Sarasota Co. Commission approves deal for Moran-led financing agency to do business

As Sarasota County Commissioner Mike Moran is engaged in a legal battle between most Florida tax collectors and a financing agency for energy efficient home improvements that he leads, the commission he chairs unanimously approved a deal with that agency at a Tuesday meeting. 

Moran is the executive director of Florida PACE, which stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy, a governmental organization. The term-limited County Commission chairman is also running for the office of Sarasota County Tax Collector. 

The County Commission first provided PACE with local authorization in 2017 – Moran’s first year on the board. 

But in January 2023, the county received a letter from PACE stating that the program had “independent authority to carry out its mission of offering PACE financing statewide, without requiring additional efforts from individual counties or cities.” The Sarasota County administrator then informed the board that a new agreement with Florida PACE would not be pursued. 

However, since then, Florida PACE requested to renew a formal agreement. 

Nonprofit funding cut: Sarasota foundations urge do-over after county commission changed nonprofit funding rules

Moran abstained from the Tuesday vote, which passed 4-0, but also referenced an opinion several years ago by the Florida Commission on Ethics that he said cleared him from criticism of a conflict of interest when he lobbied for the program in Sarasota County two years before he was offered a position with it. 

In a memo to the county administrator, Sarasota UF/IFAS Extension Director Lee Hayes Byron wrote that the proposed PACE programs would not impact the county budget. 

“It is the responsibility of each PACE Local Government and (Third-Party Administrators) to secure the private financing necessary for the implementation of the program and to work with the Property Appraiser and Tax Collector to levy the assessments,” Byron wrote. “There would be minimal county staff time involved in overseeing program implementation.” 

PACE programs were created to provide a financing option for owners who had difficulty accessing traditional credit options or without the cash for needed home improvements. Improvements include rooftop solar panels, solar water heaters, energy-efficient air conditioning units, cool roofs, impact windows, insulation and more, according to the Sarasota County website.

With the County Commission’s vote of approval, PACE providers will now begin to negotiate agreements with the Tax Collector and Property Appraiser offices. Byron’s memo said that PACE must provide documentation that “the program design meets state and local requirements” before it can enter into financing agreements with Sarasota County property owners. 

Asked how the board’s vote would affect her office, Sarasota Tax Collector Barbara Ford-Coates told the Herald-Tribune she “had the same question,” and is consulting with legal counsel. 

Property Appraiser Bill Furst did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. 

Florida PACE program raises objections among tax collectors

Moran’s income as the head of Florida PACE is more than $194,000 a year, according to his financial disclosure forms. Since the commissioner became executive director, his net worth has more than doubled – from about $621,000 in 2020 to over $1.5 million as of April 2024. 

Tax collectors have objected to the agency he leads and filed a collective lawsuit that is before the Florida Supreme Court. Florida PACE won a ruling from a lower court that the organization claims allows it to operate throughout Florida without local oversight. The Attorney General’s Office criticized how Florida PACE achieved that victory.

“In this case, the Florida PACE Funding Agency pulled a fast one, smuggling into a bond validation order rulings that purport to shield it from consumer-protection regulations by all of Florida’s local governments,” Deputy Solicitor General Kevin A. Golembiewski wrote in a brief for the Supreme Court case filed on June 17.

The 2022 bond validation proceeding allows Florida PACE to sidestep local requirements while at the same time forcing tax collectors across the state in essence to be the program’s debt collection agency, whether they agree to participate in the program or not.

Tax collectors argue the program lacks consumer protections given that PACE loans have the power to force the sale of property if Florida homeowners fall behind on payments.

The program has also been blasted by consumer advocacy groups for a lack of transparency, above-market interest rates, and inadequate protections for homeowners. There are no income qualification requirements and those who cannot pay their loans risk a tax lien against their property and could lose their houses. 

The ordinance passed by the County Commission also includes indemnification agreements between the county and two Delaware-based PACE funding companies: FortiFi Financial and Home Run Financing. 

Moran has previously told the Herald-Tribune he would resign from Florida PACE if he won his campaign to become tax collector. Moran faces Charles A. Bear in the Republican primary for the chance to take on Ford-Coates in the November general election.

Derek Gilliam contributed to this story. 

Christian Casale covers local government for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Email him at ccasale@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @vanityhack