Island town asks state agency for 'independent review' of options

LONGBOAT KEY — If Longboat Key, which straddles the Sarasota-Manatee county line, ever tries to convince state legislators to move that boundary so the town is completely within Sarasota County, Manatee County is likely to put up a fight.

The potential loss in taxes, not just for the county, but Manatee’s public school district, would be in the millions.

On Tuesday, Longboat officials again shared with the Manatee County Commission the frustrations and challenges they and their citizens encounter because their municipality is in two county jurisdictions.

“Of course, I don’t want to give you up,” Manatee Commissioner Carol Whitmore told them. “I don’t want to lose you to Sarasota.”

“I hope it would be a concern to our local (legislative) delegation,” Manatee Commissioner Betsy Benac said. Any decision to redefine the county line would ultimately rest with the Legislature and governor.

Longboat has not initiated an all-out effort to put itself totally within one county, whether it be Sarasota or Manatee. It has, however, requested its state legislators to ask the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct “an independent review” about the pros and cons.

Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer wanted to convey to the Manatee commissioners why that analysis is requested. He spoke of some of the disparities and duplication of services involved with 63 percent of Longboat’s properties and 65 percent of its population being in Sarasota County and the remainder in Manatee.

Harmer said that when Sarasota County split from Manatee in 1921, lawmakers extended the county line drawn on the mainland across the bay and across the island. At that time, dwellings were on the north end (the Manatee portion) of the key. The town did not incorporate until 1955.

Longboat property owners in Manatee have long paid higher taxes than those in Sarasota County.

For the current fiscal year, the total property tax rate paid by Longboat residents in Manatee (including the School Board, Southwest Florida Water Management District and other authorities) is slightly more than $14.25 for every $1,000 in taxable value. For those in Sarasota County, the total rate (including the Hospital Authority) comes to slightly more than $11.77.

According to Harmer: For the owner of a Longboat property with a taxable value of $500,000, the Manatee tax bill is $1,244 higher than it would be if the same residence were in Sarasota County. For the owner of a home with a taxable value of $1 million, the Manatee tax bill is $2,487 higher.

If Longboat were entirely within Sarasota County, Harmer said, Manatee’s taxing authorities (excluding the water management district and West Coast Inland Navigation District, whose tax rates are the same for both counties) would lose more than $4.4 million in property taxes.

If Longboat were entirely in Manatee County, Harmer said, Manatee’s taxing authorities (also excluding the water management and navigation districts) would gain more than $10.4 million in property tax revenue, according to Harmer’s presentation.

The town is a major contributor to both school districts, Harmer emphasized.

Although it sends just 35 students to Manatee’s public and charter schools, the town contributes $12.7 million to that school system or $364,389 per child. It sends 38 students to Sarasota’s public and charter schools while contributing more than $28.4 million to that school district or $749,442 per child.

For the county governments, the fiscal hit of losing part of Longboat would not just be in property taxes but in other sources of shared revenue, such as gas taxes and resort taxes.

Aside from the taxation situation, town officials must work with two sheriffs, two county property appraisers, two tax collectors, two supervisors of elections, two emergency operation systems and so on. Part of the municipality is within the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council’s area and the rest in the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. The town is serviced by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s staff in Tampa and Fort Myers.

Longboat uses water and wastewater services by Manatee County and that county’s landfill.

Sarasota County, however, provides dispatch services at no cost to Longboat’s police, firefighters and paramedics.

Harmer said state legislators have not yet acted on the town’s request to have OPPAGA conduct its analysis. If and how the town proceeds may depend on that agency’s findings.