Sarasota County makes a compassionate decision on taxes

The Argus Foundation has written about affordable housing since we began to contribute to the Business Weekly columns. Frequently, we write to bring attention to the issue, or to chastise government for contributing to the problem. Not so today.

This year, the Sarasota County Commission has honored their priority to affordable housing by not proposing a millage rate increase or a new public service tax on our residents. That decision is a bold one that flies in the face of typical tax-and-spend governments who give into every plea for an amenity or heightened service.

This decision recognizes that the top priorities for one third of county households are to put food on their tables and to have a roof over their heads. Parks, library books, new roads and the like are all secondary to food and shelter. This is an inarguable fact.

According to the United Way, “ALICE refers to the population in our communities that are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.” It further explains, “The ALICE population represents those among us who are working, but due to child care costs, transportation challenges, high cost of living and so much more are living paycheck to paycheck.” This is one third of our households in Sarasota County.

The County Commission made a compassionate decision, recognizing that these residents cannot show up to County Commission meetings to plead their case while they work multiple jobs and take care of their families. They are literally living on the edge of homelessness and just want government to do the right thing for them. They should not need to tell the commission that raising taxes would hurt them.

Make no mistake about it, it is a tough choice. It is hard to say no to respected community leaders who have good intentions for their issue. But their pleas should not matter more than the basic needs of these families, many with children.

Commissioners should be thinking county-wide, and we are proud to say that they are doing just that with the path they are currently taking. We congratulate them for thinking beyond the echo-chamber of the commission think tank, where they vet their budget.

A tax increase would likely end in homelessness for some of our residents. This isn’t dramatic supposition. It is, in fact, demonstrated by the United Way’s ALICE Report.

ALICE families can’t afford the overall government taxes they are paying now.

Affordable housing remains a crisis, and the county has made a conscious choice to put their words of priority into action and not to make matters worse.

Last year, the commission made a solid decision not to increase taxes and found cuts. This decision came on the heels of Hurricane Irma. The commission made the right decision not to tax electric as many were still without it. While we were lucky in Sarasota County, we did have many homes here that sustained damage. Many residents are still spending money they really don’t have on home repairs more than nine months later.

A Facebook friend of mine, whom I greatly respect, recently posted a quotation about the importance of empathy. “Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge is Empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world. — Bill Bullard”

The Sarasota County Commission has demonstrated clear empathy for our ALICE families, a substantial portion of our population. We encourage them to continue to do so, and so should you.

We are also seeing this movement with the majority of the Sarasota City Commission as well. They have also pushed back on staff’s desire to grow government, and they are not taking any excuses. Kudos to them for diligently looking out for city taxpayers.

We should thank our County Commissioners and encourage the Sarasota City Commissioners. They are actively protecting the welfare of our workforce and are doing the right and fair thing for affordable housing, a county priority, by holding the line on our millage rate.

Christine Robinson is executive director of the Argus Foundation and was on the Sarasota County Commission from 2010 to 2016. Contact her at christine@argusfoundation.org.