The mailing address on my bill is incorrect. How do I have it changed?
The mailing address on your tax bill is certified to the Tax Collector by the Property Appraiser. If your mailing address differs from that shown on your tax bill, you may note your change on the Property Appraiser's website, click on "e-mail form" in the navigation panel on the left side of the Web page to download an address change form and mail it to the address listed on the form. You can also contact the Property Appraiser at 941-861-8200.

What if I receive a tax bill and I no longer own the property?

• If you received a real estate tax bill for property you no longer own, forward it to the new owner or return it to this office. 
• If you received a tangible personal property tax bill for property you no longer own, but you did own on Jan. 1, 2011, you are still responsible for paying the taxes. 
• If you did not own the tangible personal property on or after Jan. 1, 2011, you need to contact the Property Appraiser immediately at 941-861-8200.

What is this Proposed Notice and when will I have to pay?
This is a Proposed Notice of Non-Ad Valorem Assessment (special districts such as solid waste, fire/rescue, lighting districts and stormwater). This is not a bill. This notice shows the proposed non-ad valorem assessments by levying authorities. If the Board of County Commissioners adopts the rates in September these fees will appear on your usual tax assessment bill in November for the next Fiscal Year (FY12 – Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012).

How can I protest the new stormwater rates?
You may attend the Board of County Commissioners Budget Hearings scheduled in September.

What does Non-Ad Valorem mean?
It is an assessment not based on the value of the property. It is for a particular service, sometimes called a “user fee.” Factors such as contribution to the drainage system are used to determine stormwater non-ad valorem assessments.

What is SEU and what do I get for this assessment?
The Stormwater Environmental Utility was established in order to provide a dedicated source of funding for the operation, maintenance, planning and improvement of the existing and future public stormwater system. Stormwater assessments provide funding for a variety of drainage related services. The three components are:

• Customer Service – database management, cost of billing and collecting the assessments.

• Operating and Planning – basin master planning, engineering services, development reviews and administrative functions.

• Maintenance Service – applies to the urbanized western portion of the utility service area. Drainage operations is responsible for canal maintenance, roadside ditch maintenance, mowing, hand cleaning, storm ponds, lakes, mitigation areas, pipe cleaning and replacement, debris removal, erosion engineering and permitting. See History

How long have we been paying these assessments?
Ordinance No. 89-177 originally established the Sarasota County stormwater environmental utility and initiated the collection of stormwater service assessments in 1992. Service and CIP assessments - Yearly: Assessment paid for new FY (Oct. 1 to Sept. 30) on your November Tax Bill.

I live in the City of Sarasota, why do I pay a county stormwater fee?
The utility, through an Interlocal Agreement between the county and the city of Sarasota, accepted responsibility for the maintenance of the city of Sarasota in 1991. Sarasota County is now performing all stormwater maintenance work for the residents of the city of Sarasota.

Interlocal stormwater fee Agreement

Does everyone pay this stormwater assessment?
The stormwater utility wide geographic service area is defined as, all of the unincorporated Sarasota county and the city of Sarasota, excluding the cities of North Port, Venice and the Town of Longboat Key. All Parcels within the service area are considered customers because all parcels have the capacity to generate stormwater runoff.

Service Area Map

What is an ESU?
The Sarasota County stormwater environmental utility currently assesses its customers based on Equivalent Stormwater Units (ESU’s) that are based on the effective impervious area of the average single-family parcel. Based on statistically valid sampling of single family developed parcels, an “ESU Value” of 3,153 square feet was derived from a medium Net Impervious Area (NIA) and NIA of the sampled parcels. The ESU Value is used to establish a basis for comparison of the relative runoff from the base ESU value and from all parcels within the stormwater utility area, including residential parcels, industrial/commercial parcels and condominiums.

View the ESU Value chart

What is the stormwater maintenance area?
The stormwater maintenance area includes the predominantly urbanized drainage basins. The Deer Prairie Slough, Big Slough, and Little Salt Creek basins are non-maintained. With the exception of Oak Ford, Bel-Air Estates, and Myakka Valley Ranches subdivisions, River Road, Venice Avenue and Border Road areas of the Myakka River Basin are also non-maintained.

Service Area Map

• What is the difference between a service assessment and a capital improvement assessment?
  Serviced assessments are imposed on property within the utility area to fund customer service, planning and all maintenance. Non maintained basins are only assessed for customer service and planning.

  Service Area Map
   

• Capital assessments are imposed only within certain basins to fund the cost of stormwater improvements currently planned or under construction in those basins. This is known as the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), assessments vary from basin to basin and from year to year. There are 27 separate drainage basins within Sarasota County. Currently there are eight Capital Improvement Assessment programs in place.

  CIP Improvement Map

Why do I have two Stormwater fees?

• To fund SEU service costs for Sarasota County: general fund, countywide to fund the stormwater department’s three components: customer service, operating/planning service, and maintenance service.

• To fund SEU capital costs for: funds for particular basins for the improvements necessary beyond maintenance to improve drainage to the adopted level of service for Sarasota County in order to alleviate structure and severe street flooding.

  Stormwater Basin Capital Improvement rates below are per ESU	FY2012 $
  Catfish Creek Stormwater Improvement	$75.00
  Clower Creek Stormwater Improvement	$7.55
  Elligraw Bayou Stormwater Improvement	$55.58
  Matheny Creek Stormwater Improvement	$70.62
  Woodmere Creek Stormwater Improvement	$50.17
  The funds collected from a particular area are spent exclusively in that area.

I do not live on the creek or bayou, why do I pay for a Creek CIP assessment?
You do not have to live on the creek to receive a basin assessment. You only have to live within the basin area. Your runoff drains ultimately to that specific creek or bayou.

View the Basin Maps