The Sarasota County Board of Commissioners held a budget workshop on June 21 to address tax increases in our community.

They clearly want to improve the quality of life in Sarasota County through better amenities. But these improvements would come with challenges.

We applaud commissioners for unanimously deciding not to increase the county millage rate. We particularly thank those who decided that we should have a conversation about cutting expenses. However, as of this meeting, commissioners were considering initiating a public service tax of 5 percent. Though this may not seem like a huge change to many, it would disproportionately affect one-third of our county.

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