Lavish Spending and Questionable Deals: The Troubling Allegations Against Sarasota County Official Mike Moran

Sarasota County Commission chair Mike Moran has come under scrutiny for his lavish spending of taxpayer funds and questionable financial dealings. A public records request has revealed that Moran, who also serves as the executive director of the Florida PACE Funding Agency (FPFA), has spent over ,000 on extravagant trips and meals, while also receiving a lucrative bonus arrangement from the agency he oversees. As Moran runs for the position of county tax collector, these revelations raise serious concerns about his accountability and the use of public funds.

Uncovering the Lavish Spending and Questionable Bonus Deals

Extravagant Trips and Meals on the Taxpayer's Dime

According to financial records obtained through a public records request, Moran has spent over ,000 of taxpayer money on lavish trips to Las Vegas, New York City, and California. These expenses include multiple thousand-dollar-plus dinners at upscale steakhouses, as well as indulgences in expensive wine and tequila shots. The records show that Moran's travel expenses were incurred during his tenure as the executive director of the FPFA, a government special district formed in 2011 to help economically disadvantaged homeowners finance improvements to their properties.One particular trip to Las Vegas in February 2023 saw Moran spending ,345 on a dinner at a Caesars Palace restaurant, as well as over ,300 on a Hilton hotel suite. During this trip, Moran also met with members of DTA, a California consulting firm that contracts with FPFA, and a photo posted on social media showed Moran's wife, Lori, alongside DTA executives and other FPFA board members.Four months later, Moran attended a conference in New York City, where he booked a private dinner for 35 at the upscale Smith & Wollensky steakhouse, costing taxpayers ,550, including ,279.75 for 11 bottles of wine and numerous cocktails. In September 2023, just days after Moran spearheaded a decision to cut childcare funding in Sarasota County, he flew to California with his wife and the FPFA's director of operations, where they met with DTA finance executives and indulged in various dining experiences, including eight shots of tequila, at a cost of ,907 to taxpayers.

The Lucrative Bonus Arrangement

In addition to his lavish spending, Moran's employment contracts with FPFA included an unusual provision that allowed him to receive additional compensation of 0.20% on every project financed by the agency. According to data from FPFA's website, over 6 million of projects were financed during the period when Moran's company, Moran 360, LLC, was entitled to this bonus.Public records reveal that Moran's company, Southern Sky Energy, a Florida entity registered and owned by Moran 360, LLC, received over ,000 in payments from FPFA during the first three months of 2023. However, Moran's most recent financial disclosure statement for the 2023 reporting period does not mention any income from Southern Sky Energy or Moran 360, and he has stated that he "did not personally receive all those funds."Ethics and state government experts have questioned both the lucrative bonus deal and the eye-popping travel expenses incurred by Moran on the public's dime. Leon County Attorney Chasity O'Steen, who has worked with special districts across the state, said the bonus deal is "far from standard operating procedure" and "unheard of."

Moran's Justification and the Experts' Disagreement

In a phone interview, Moran argued that because FPFA's money comes from private individuals paying special assessments on their property tax bills, the money spent on his travel should not be considered public funds. However, Chuck Perdue, the President of the Florida Association of Tax Collectors, disagreed with this assertion, stating that "to suggest that revenue flowing to these PACE entities from collecting special assessments are not public dollars is simply ludicrous."

The Explosive Growth and Controversy Surrounding FPFA

The revelations about Moran's spending and financial arrangements come amid a broader controversy surrounding the FPFA and its aggressive expansion across the state. In late 2022, FPFA obtained judicial approval to issue billion in tax-exempt revenue bonds, which would allow it to finance a planned expansion without the need for local government oversight or consent.This move has sparked legal challenges, with the Florida Supreme Court now considering the case. The Attorney General's office has filed an amicus brief supporting the tax collectors and counties, stating that FPFA "pulled a fast one" in the bond validation order to shield it from local consumer-protection regulations.Furthermore, Moran has waged a costly fight to oppose Senate Bill 770, legislation aimed at upending FPFA's aggressive statewide expansion. The FPFA board approved Moran's request to hire a well-connected lobbyist to kill the legislation, ultimately spending nearly 0,000 of taxpayer money in a failed attempt to urge Governor Ron DeSantis to veto the bill.

Concerns from Experts and Former Officials

The revelations about Moran's spending and financial dealings have raised concerns among experts and former officials. Ben Wilcox, the executive director of the non-profit government watchdog group Integrity Florida, said the ,000 spent on lavish travel "raises a lot of red flags and cries out for an independent audit to take place."Former Senator Mike Fasano was even more blunt, stating that Moran is "taking money from people who can least afford it and spending it in Vegas" and that "there's a lot of questionable things that he's done along the way that need to be investigated by the Attorney General."As Moran runs for the position of Sarasota County tax collector, these revelations about his spending and financial arrangements raise serious questions about his accountability and the use of public funds. The ongoing legal battles surrounding the FPFA and the concerns raised by experts and former officials suggest that further scrutiny and investigation may be warranted.