Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/170820
Sarasota News Leader September 13, 2013 the evening wore on, four more members appeared. Katie Leonard sent word she was quitting because she was moving away from the area, while member Michael Beaumier failed to attend. Page 56 erty owners' payments to be used only in that confined area to fight "slum and blight." When the district was established for a 30year term in 1986, you could argue downtown had sections of slum and blight. To argue the The agenda was a bit odd. The members same today would raise an eyebrow or two, were meeting to decide what should be de- among the brick pavers and fancy streetlights cided. Should the CRA be extended? If so, for and rejuvenated building façades. how long? Should its boundaries be changed? Because the taxing scheme depends on comShould it be governed in a different way? pounding, the amount it raises has grown subThose questions were reserved for later. But stantially. The district froze at the 1986 level the big issue of survival was answered. the amount of property tax revenue the city At stake is about $7 million dollars every year and county collect in the defined area. Any that is now spent — mostly — on downtown revenue coming in above that amount in subSarasota. The CRA uses a "tax-increment fi- sequent years has been used to fund the CRA. nancing" scheme that skims city and county As property values rose, so did the tax roll. property tax revenue from downtown prop- This year the CRA pulled in roughly $7 million. Members of the CRA extension committee meet in the City Commission Chambers in July. Photo by Stan Zimmerman