Sarasota County’s total debt increased by $183.4 million, or 22.7 percent during the current fiscal year. The County issued Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2023B in the amount of $27.6 million to finance the construction an Administration office for County Administration and Board Chambers, and an Enterprise Information Technology Center and Employee Health Center. The County issued Infrastructure Sales Surtax Revenue Bonds, Series in the amount of $82.5 million to finance a variety of capital projects including but not limited to an additional pool at Selby Aquatic Center, advance ROW acquisition program, Blackburn Point Road movable bridge replacement, bridge repair, rehabilitation and replacement program, County History Center/Fruitville Library expansion and renovation, data center replacement, educational outreach garden, Snook Haven Park improvements, fiber optic data transmission lines, Fire/ EMS regional training academy/ phase II construction, Fruitville Road widening from Debrecen Road to Lorraine Road, Honore Avenue widening (Fruitville Road to 17th Street), Lorraine Road extension (Fruitville to Palmer), new County Administration center, parks, recreation and natural resources administration facility, replacement of helicopter air 2, solar photovoltaic program, sports complex, and athletic facilities development and improvements, Nathan Benderson Park connector trail, and the Supervisor of Elections administrative facility. The County issued Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2024A in the amount of $25.0 million to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of a sports stadium to include approximately four multi-purpose fields, nine youth softball fields, three adult softball fields and multiple buildings across the sports complex, including, but not limited to, maintenance facilities, restrooms, concessions, meeting rooms, office spaces, locker rooms and storage, to be located at the 17th Street Regional Park. The County issued Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2024B in the amount of $23.5 million to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of a Planning and Development Services One Stop Center and a Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Admin Facility. The County issued Tourist Development Tax Revenue Bonds, Series 2024A in the amount of $14.6 million to finance a grant that will be made by the County to Mote Marine Laboratory Inc to assist in building the new Mote Aquarium. The County issued Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2024C in the amount of $25.9 million to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of a Sarasota County Regional Fire Training Academy. The County issued Solid Waste System Revenue Bonds, Series 2024 in the amount of $15.8 million to finance the acquisition of real property to be used for excavating soils and to meet the long term needs of the System. A copy of the Debt Management Policy may be found on the website www.sarasotaclerk.com. Additional information on Sarasota County’s long-term debt activity may be found in Note 7 on pages 118-141 of this report. Economic Factors and Next Year’s Budgets and Rates Sarasota County had an average unemployment rate of 3.4 percent during the current fiscal year, an increase from the 2.8 percent reported in the previous fiscal year. This rate is higher than the State and lower than the National average for the same time frame. The County has been able to maintain or improve the level of services provided while sustaining one of the lowest millage rates in the State of Florida. The aggregate millage countywide rate (including the Emergency Services Municipal Services Taxing Unit) for the fiscal year 2025 adopted budget is 4.0756. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, the County's per capita personal income as of 2023 was $85,157. This was one of the highest of the 67 Florida counties. The assessed value of real estate located in the County after exemptions was valued at $103.8 billion in the current fiscal year, which reflects an increase of $9.7 billion or a 10.3 percent increase from the prior fiscal year. 40
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