In The News

For years, Tallahassee has asked local governments to show restraint. The Governor, the Cabinet and the Legislature have pointed again and again to local budgets growing faster than inflation and population combined. Local governments, for the most part, kept spending.

Sarasota city commissioners took steps toward creation of a new sound control ordinance on Sept. 21, including establishment of an enforcement team that will include the Sarasota Police Department.

Local government works best in the open and transparent, and most of the time, it is. Agendas get posted and backup materials go out before a vote. Residents get a chance to speak throughout the process and before decisions become final.

But this year in Sarasota County, that process has broken down in ways that should concern every resident.

Sean Patton would love to live in one of the new apartment complexes multiplying across Sarasota County. But despite a college degree, a steady income and his own business, the rents remain out of financial reach — even for those considered “affordable housing” under a landmark state law.

Contracts for the two highest-paid employees in Sarasota County government will remain unamended — for now — though county commissioners will soon embark on a project to renew how both are evaluated.