The Record · Sarasota Board of County Commissioners

Joe Neunder

December 2022 – June 2026 · 987 recorded roll calls in the minutes

“By their fruits ye shall know them.”

— Matthew 7:16

While he served, the all-in county cost for a family of four went from

$14,592$24,008a year

+$9,416 a year, a 65% increase

Four budget cycles — from the year before this board took over (FY2022) to the FY2026 plan it adopted. He recorded Yes on every one of the 15 budget adoptions and every one of the 37 borrowing items that came to the dais during that time.

$5.05B

in stated dollar amounts enacted with his Yes across the term

960 – 14

recorded Yes vs. recorded No — a +98.6% Yes rate

$1.53B

in brand-new borrowing, approved 30 out of 30 times

12 of 14

of his No positions came on items that passed anyway

The pattern in the record is consistency. Across nearly a thousand recorded roll calls, Joe Neunder is recorded against just fourteen items — and on the money itself, virtually never: every budget adoption, every millage rate, every borrowing item, and all but one brand-new spending authorization carries his Yes. Twelve of his fourteen No positions came on items that passed anyway.

The household bill, year by year

All-in county spending and debt per family of four. The red bars are the budgets adopted while he was on the board; the dashed line marks the takeover.

What this means: a family of four's share is $9,416 a year higher than when this board took over — and every budget that did that carries his Yes.

FY2026 is pro forma — projected from the budget the board itself adopted. Source: locked county series built from audited ACFRs and adopted budgets; documented here.

“Our words must be judged by our deeds.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

The money items, one by one

Share of each category he approved, out of the roll calls where he is recorded. Nothing here is characterization — it is division.

What this means: on the items that grow the budget — the budgets themselves, the borrowing, and the new spending — he approved 100%, 100%, and 99.1% respectively.

15/15

budget and millage adoptions approved — including every final budget and every rate that produces the bills above.

37/37

borrowing items approved — $1.53B of new debt plus $226.6M refinanced.

115/116

brand-new spending authorizations approved, totaling $634.4M in stated amounts.

Development and land use

+95.6%

of the 252 land-use items where he is recorded were approved with his Yes
(rezonings alone: 90 of 94, +95.7%)

Development items follow the same pattern. Of the 252 land-use items where he is recorded — rezonings, special exceptions, comprehensive-plan amendments — 241 were approved with his Yes. His eleven No positions are the exceptions that prove how rare an exception is: most were 3–2 outcomes where the item passed regardless.

Where he went on the record against — a sample

2023-07-12 — Rezone from OUE-1 (Open Use Estate, 1 unit/5 acres) to RSF-1 (Residential, Single-Family, 2.5 units/acre) [23-01] (north of Coash Road, east of Sweet Shade Drive, Sarasota) · 3-2 · passed anyway
2023-09-26 — Special Exception for a Day Care Facility in the RSF-3 (Residential, Single-Family, 4.5 units/acre) zone district [1859] (3059 Gypsy Street, Sarasota) · 3-2 · passed anyway
2023-10-10 — Rezone from CHI (Commercial Highway Interchange) with stipulations to CHI with amended stipulations [23-06] (385 Commercial Court, Venice) · 3-2 · passed anyway
2023-10-10 — Special Exception to allow a building height of 50 feet for a self-storage building in a CHI zone district [1869] (385 Commercial Court, Venice) · 3-2 · passed anyway

How the money he approved reaches your household

None of this money is abstract. Every dollar the board approved is collected from the people who live here — through four channels that all end at your address:

Property taxes — the millage rates adopted each year, multiplied by your home's rising taxable value.
Fire and EMS assessments — separate charges on the same bill, adopted annually by the same five people.
Fees and rates — trash, water, sewer, and stormwater rise without ever appearing on a referendum.
The cost of living — landlords, grocers, and service businesses pay these same taxes and fees, and pass them through to rents and prices.

There is no outside party who covers it. Whether you own, rent, or shop here, a share of the bill above is yours.

The full household-cost breakdown →

Check every line yourself

Every figure above comes from the board's own minutes — 992 recorded roll calls from December 2022 through June 2026 — and the county's audited financial reports. Nothing here requires you to take our word for it.

The full ledger, all 992 roll calls Data & Sources