Board members agree to wait on resolution of Circuit Court litigation between Tax Collector’s Office and School Board to decide how to deal with commissions in future years
The Sarasota County commissioners voted unanimously on May 19 to adopt a resolution that county administrative staff and representatives of the Office of the County Attorney had drawn up to reflect the board’s May 5 vote to pay Sarasota County Tax Collector Mike Moran’s office for commissions Moran is charging for the handling of the revenue from a special 1-mill tax for the Sarasota County School Board.
On May 5, at the suggestion of Commissioner Tom Knight, the board members voted 3-2 to rescind action they took unanimously on Aug. 19, 2025 that called for the School Board to pay the $589,556 that County Administrator Jonathan Lewis had included in the county’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year budget, which began on Oct. 1, 2025.
During that last workshop before they formally adopted the FY 2026 budget, the commissioners talked of the need to trim the county’s spending in coming fiscal years. They stressed their concerns about the potential that the Florida Legislature will place a referendum on the November General Election ballot that will allow citizens to vote for the elimination of specific property taxes. Property tax revenue is the major source of funding for local government operations…