# City of Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan City of Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan is a Pension Fund based in Sarasota, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Pension Fund - **Headquarters:** Sarasota, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Sarasota, FL, United States - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** sarasotagov.com ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About The City of Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan is a statutory public pension fund created under Florida law to provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for sworn firefighters employed by the City of Sarasota. Its existence is mandated by municipal charter, and the plan is governed by a board of trustees that includes both appointed officials and firefighter representatives—a shared-governance structure common among Florida municipal pensions. The City of Sarasota, as plan sponsor, contributes actuarially determined amounts annually to ensure long-term solvency. Real estate exposure forms a disclosed component of the plan's portfolio. The fund participates in the UBS Trumbull Property Fund, a core open-end commingled vehicle diversified across U.S. office, industrial, multifamily, and retail properties. It also holds a position with Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, a Boston-based manager investing in mixed-use assets nationally. These commitments reflect a risk-mitigated approach typical of public safety pensions: prioritizing stable, income-generating property over opportunistic development. The plan's full asset mix—including any fixed-income, public-equity, or infrastructure allocations—is not publicly enumerated. In September 2023, the fund maintained active participation in the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association, sending representatives to educational conferences focused on fiduciary governance and state-level regulatory updates. The plan benefits from financial oversight by the City of Sarasota's central administrative team, with Director Kelly Strickland and Senior Pension Analyst Anthony Ferrer handling day-to-day operations. The affiliated Sarasota Firefighters Benevolent Fund operates as a separate charitable entity supporting active and retired firefighters. The plan's structural differentiator lies in its shared-governance board composition—firefighter trustees sit alongside city-appointed financial officers, a model that embeds operational transparency but can constrain asset-allocation agility. Unlike larger state-wide systems, this single-city fund exercises direct local control over benefits administration and manager selection, operating without the intermediating layer of a state investment board. Succession of both board members and administrative staff follows municipal electoral cycles and departmental promotions rather than independent board appointment. ## Sectors - Real Estate ## People - Kelly Strickland — Director of Financial Administration - John Lege — Trustee, Firefighters' Pension Fund - Anthony Ferrer — Senior Pension Analyst ## Questions ### Who administers the City of Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan? The plan is administered by the City of Sarasota's Financial Administration department. Kelly Strickland serves as Director of Financial Administration, supported by Senior Pension Analyst Anthony Ferrer. A board of trustees, including firefighter representatives like John Lege, governs the plan's fiduciary decisions. ### What real estate holdings does the Firefighters' Pension Plan maintain? Known holdings include positions in the UBS Trumbull Property Fund, a diversified core U.S. real estate vehicle spanning office, industrial, retail, and multifamily sectors. The plan also invests through Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, which focuses on mixed-use properties. These commitments suggest a preference for institutional-quality, income-producing assets over speculative development. ### Is the plan part of the Florida Retirement System? No. The City of Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan operates independently from the Florida Retirement System, as permitted under state law for municipal public safety pension funds. It is self-administered with direct local governance, though it must comply with Florida statutes governing actuarial soundness and reporting for local-government pension plans. ### How is the pension board structured? The board includes both city-appointed financial officials and elected or designated representatives of the firefighter membership. This shared-governance model is standard among Florida municipal safety pensions and ensures that both the plan sponsor and the beneficiaries have formal say in oversight and policy-setting. ### Does the Sarasota Firefighters Benevolent Fund overlap with the pension plan? The Sarasota Firefighters Benevolent Fund is a separate charitable organization that supports active and retired firefighters through non-pension assistance. The pension plan serves the statutory retirement function under Florida municipal law, while the Benevolent Fund operates with donor and community contributions for charitable purposes. ### How does the plan participate in the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association? The plan is an active FPPTA member, sending trustees and administrative staff to educational conferences that cover fiduciary responsibilities, legislative developments, and investment governance. This engagement reflects a commitment to board-level education and compliance with Florida's standards for public pension oversight. ## Related profiles - [City of Sanford Police Officers' and Firefighters' Retirement System](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-sanford-police-officers-and-firefighters-retirement-system) - [City of Sarasota General Employees' Defined Benefit Pension Plan](https://altss.com/profile/city-of-sarasota-general-employees-defined-benefit-pension-plan) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-sarasota-firefighters-pension-plan Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology