Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Property owners pay for beach renourishment
A letter writer on April 5 was mistaken in stating that Sarasota County taxpayers pay for beach renourishment on private beaches (“Tit for tat to homeowners blocking beach”). There is a special taxing district that imposes a tax on private beach owners when renourishment occurs.
The fact is, Siesta Key is Sarasota County’s “cash cow.” Siesta property owners pay more in taxes than they receive in government services. We are a donor community that supports Sarasota County, not the other way around.
About 80% of the county’s beaches are in private hands. These beach owners have to deal with increasingly aggressive tourists, damage to private property and public trash. Tourists have used private property as bathrooms.