In a workshop, they agree not to raise homeowner fees.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: September 5, 2025
Host: The county commission met Friday morning to discuss stormwater management, and Ramon Lopez brings you the details.
Ben Quartermaine during the stormwater workshop. Photo: Lopez
Ramon Lopez: For over a year now, there’s been much discussion over what went wrong in this area of Florida during the 2024 triple-hurricane season. The debate has
also included what needs to be done to avoid recurrence of the severe flooding
encountered in parts of Sarasota County last year.
Sarasota County commissioners heard from county administration, a stormwater
consultant and the public, on how best to fund next year’s stormwater work and
how much the taxpayer should pay for it.
The matter came up at the county’s fourth stormwater workshop. The county
leaders got a first look at Ben Quartermaine, director of the newly formed Sarasota
County Stormwater Department. He presented his plans for stormwater maintenance, including an update on much-awaited Phillippi Creek dredging. Quartermaine also offered the commissioners options for a 2026 stormwater rate hike.
Also before the commission was consultant Steve Suau, hired by the county to advise Quartermaine on stormwater matters, including the proposed rate hike for county taxpayers.
An audit performed by Suau shows that the county has a glut of stormwater money available. He says throwing more tax dollars at the county’s stormwater problem would be wasteful. Suau said $75 million in stormwater project spending for the next five years could be redirected, freeing up $12 to $14 million annually, without raising assessments on residents.
The county commissioners discussed the three options presented to them. They went with Suau’s position.
We hear from Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and stormwater czar Quartermaine.
Ron Cutsinger: I can’t imagine that you know this, this, raising these rates at this moment is is the right thing for me.
Ben Quartermaine: Ultimately, the board decided not to raise the stormwater improvement assessments for fiscal year 2026.
RL: Quartermaine went on to say waterway cleanup efforts are already ongoing county-wide, and hiring of contractors for Phillippi Creek dredging is in the works. It is reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has provided county staff a provisional letter of approval, saying the agency is ready to issue a permit for the dredging of the portion of Phillippi Creek from U.S. 41 to Beneva Road. He said the county-wide maintenance work will continue. A second phase of Phillippi Creek dredging is planned. Meanwhile, he will review all current stormwater projects on the table, and define the intent and benefit of each.
Suau. Photo: Lopez
Local community activist Tom Matrullo liked what he heard at the latest stormwater workshop.
Tom Matrullo
Tom Matrullo: We had no clue how exposed we were, because no one seems to have been minding the store. When Debbie, Helene and Milton came along, we discovered that the taxes we were paying for routine maintenance, inspection and dredging had morphed into a magic story telling us that all would be well. It is past time for us to crawl out of this cocoon of fiction and fantasy, to engage the facts and to make sure we never go back.
RL: Full disclosure: Matrullo is a WSLR board member.
This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
Clarification: This story was edited, to eliminate an error based on wrong information.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Wednesdays and Fridays at 6pm.
