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any evidence or documentation that it has created the jobs required." The complaint filed this week by Deputy County Attorney Frederick Elbrecht argues that the company has "breached" its agree- ment with the county and that the county is "entitled" to $2,992 for each of the 117 jobs not created. That means Sanborn could be on the hook for up to $350,000, still just 54 percent of the total amount given to the company. Scott Sobel, president of the Washington, D.C., public relations firm Media & Communications Strategies — which was hired to represent Sanborn — said in a statement issued Monday, Aug. 3, that the company is "appalled." "The county continues to waste more of the taxpayer's money with a frivolous lawsuit and hurts the county's reputation, sending a message that Sarasota does not have a busi- ness-friendly environment," he wrote. In a previous statement, Sobel wrote that in 2013, Sanborn had provided "evidence" to the county that it had created 200 jobs. At an Aug. 9, 2013, meeting, "county repre- sentatives heard that the studio had created approximately 200 full time jobs and met all contractual legal obligations," Sobel wrote in this week's statement. Sobel told The Sarasota News Leader in June that the county's contract is not "enforce- able" and that Sanborn is not obligated to provide any information beyond what it has already provided. He also pointed the News Leader to a 2011 report compiled by the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Sarasota County Comptroller Karen Rushing. Analyzing several financial incentive agree- ments, that report found that 10 out of 15 contracts "did not include a right to examine award recipients' records relevant to com- pliance with agreement requirements." That stipulation "was added to the agreement lan- guage in January 2011," the report states. A 2012 audit by Rushing's office, meanwhile, found that "financial incentive contracts lack provisions requiring companies to submit doc- umentation that allows for reconciliation of jobs created during the term of the contract." That report recommended that "companies should be required to submit documentation to verify the number of jobs created." Sobel promised a "more complete" response to the lawsuit once Sanborn has evaluated the lawsuit. The county declined to comment on the action. % Search for text in stories by clicking the icon in the menubar and entering a search term. Search the current edition or all editions. QUICK TIP Search Only The Issue You Are Viewing Search All Issues Your search term here Sarasota News Leader August 8 & 15, 2014 Page 36