Waldo Proffitt asks:

Is city of Sarasota necessary?

. . . city residents paid one-fifth of their annual property tax to be able to live within the city limits. That's hundreds of dollars or thousands of dollars, depending on the value of your house or condominium. Was it worth it?

The tangible benefits have become fewer and fewer over the years. The city has handed off its fire and emergency functions to the county, along with parks and recreation. The city provides water and sewer services and trash collection, but residents are billed for them each month and their cost does not come out of their property tax.

The city has a clerk and auditor and financial and record-keeping functions to support all city departments and activities and has its own planning and zoning department -- all of which are essential to the operation of any city, or indeed of any government of any size anywhere. None of these really have a claim on the affections of any city voter or stir up much emotion of any kind -- until something goes wrong.

None of them, singly or in total, justify paying 20 percent of your property tax bill to maintain a city. The only department that might do so is the Police Department, which is now the center of a bubbling controversy. More...