Sarasota County Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2020

Long-term debt. At the end of the current fiscal year, Sarasota County had total bonded debt outstanding of $428.1 million. This amount represents $63.5 million of General Obligation bonds secured by the full faith, credit and taxing power of the County and $364.5 million of bonds secured solely by specified revenue sources (revenue bonds). Outstanding Debt (in thousands) Governmental Business-type Activities Activities Total 2020 2019 2020 2019 2020 2019 General Obligations $ 63,512 $ 36,385 $ - $ - $ 63,512 $ 36,385 Commercial paper 33,649 17,992 9,000 12,000 42,649 29,992 Notes payable 107,089 111,551 70,236 85,349 177,325 196,900 Non-self supporting revenue bonds 203,710 201,739 - - 203,710 201,739 Self supporting revenue bonds - - 160,833 163,869 160,833 163,869 Total $ 407,960 $ 367,667 $ 240,069 $ 261,218 $ 648,029 $ 628,885 Sarasota County’s total debt increased by $19.1 million, or 3.0 percent during the current fiscal year. The County issued Capital Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2020 in the amount of $18.8 million to finance the design and construction of the Downtown Cooling Plant, Facilities Energy Conservation Measures Upgrades, and the East Jail Controls Upgrade. The County issued General Obligation Bonds, Series 2020 in the principal amount of $24.9 million, to finance a portion of the costs of the improvement of the Legacy Trail Extension within the County. The County issued an Infrastructure Sales Surtax Revenue Note, Series 2020 in the principal amount of $9.1 million to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of the improvements to the South County Courts and R.L. Anderson Building Remodel. The County issued several commercial paper draws in an amount totaling $21.4 million to finance the cost of County projects. 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 111-124 of this report. Economic Factors and Next Year’s Budgets and Rates • Sarasota County had an average unemployment rate of 6.3 percent during the current fiscal year, an increase from the 3.2 percent reported in the previous fiscal year. This increase is due to global health crisis - COVID-19 effects on c e rtain industries. This rate is lower than the State and 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 county wide rate (including the Emergency Services Municipal Services Taxing Unit) for the fiscal year 2021 adopted budget is 4.1200. • According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, the County's per capita personal income as of 2019 was $66,878. 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 $65.5 billion in the current fiscal year, which reflects an increase of $3.2 billion or a 5.2 percent increase from the prior fiscal year. • During the current fiscal year, new residential and nonresidential construction in the County was valued at $612.2 million. 40