Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/157038
Sarasota News Leader August 23, 2013 Page 45 The question, Hines continued, is "How do you increase those reserves in '15 and '16?" The current commission has voiced a commitment to avoid tax increases, he added, which means, as Barbetta has noted on numerous occasions, that the county should sell surplus property and broaden its economic development initiatives. said. "We've got to get control of this in some sort of way at some point." If the board does foster economic development, Barbetta pointed out, and the county once again begins to experience the growth rate it recorded before the Great Recession, the County Commission in FY 2016 could be looking at adding tens of millions to its economic uncertainty reserve. That morning, Percy Owens, 38, of Sarasota, told the board the "local impact of Super Cross [at the county's BMX facility] will be awesome." SPORTS TOURISM In their final discussion during the budget workshop this week, Barbetta fought again for tourism initiatives. A world BMX champion, Owens said the track already has more than 1,000 local riders. If the county spends the money to improve the Robinson argued for controlled spending. facility, he pointed out, "It will bring all kinds "We're still on an unsustainable path," she of attention from a national standpoint." The Baltimore Orioles' games at Ed Smith Stadium over the past several years have contributed to the rise in the county's Tourist Development Tax revenue. Photo by Norman Schimmel