The Record · Sarasota Board of County Commissioners

Mark Smith

December 2022 – June 2026 · 985 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 38 borrowing items that came to the dais during that time.

$5.11B

in stated dollar amounts enacted with his Yes across the term

957 – 28

recorded Yes vs. recorded No — a +97.2% Yes rate

$1.56B

in brand-new borrowing, approved 31 out of 31 times

27 of 28

of his No positions came on items that passed anyway

Mark Smith's record splits cleanly in two. On the money, it is unbroken: every budget adoption, every millage rate, every borrowing item, and all 118 brand-new spending authorizations carry his Yes — a 100% approval rate on new spending, without a single exception. His twenty-eight No positions live almost entirely somewhere else: twenty-two of them are land-use items. And twenty-seven of the twenty-eight 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 100% respectively.

15/15

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

38/38

borrowing items approved — $1.56B of new debt plus $226.6M refinanced.

118/118

brand-new spending authorizations approved, totaling $660.0M in stated amounts.

Development and land use

+91.4%

of the 257 land-use items where he is recorded were approved with his Yes
(rezonings alone: 85 of 96, +88.5%)

Land use is where his record diverges from the rest of the board. He is recorded against 22 of the 257 land-use items he heard — the most of any member — including 11 of 96 rezonings. It is a real difference of degree, and worth stating precisely: even here, roughly nine of every ten development items still carry his Yes, and nearly every item he was recorded against passed without him.

Where he went on the record against — a sample

2023-01-31 — Allow outdoor and indoor entertainment after 10 p.m. in the Commercial General/Siesta Key Overlay District [Special Exception Petition No. 1856] (5251 and 5253 Ocean Blvd, Sarasota) · 4-1 · passed anyway
2023-01-31 — Transmit CPA 2022-E; MODR to Village II Commercial Center [Comprehensive Plan Amendment No. 2022-E (Resolution No. 2023-027, transmittal)] (West of North River Road, south of East Venice Avenue, Venice) · 4-1 · 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
2023-09-27 — Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPA) No. SA-2022-02 to change future land use designation of approximately 0.78 acres from Medium Density Residential (MEDR) to Regional Commercial Center [SA-2022-02] (north of Stickney Point Road and west of U.S. 41) · 4-1 · 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