Empty seats have the loudest voice

Hey, it’s Tuesday. Let’s talk about the sales tax idea.

Through no fault of the folks who are organizing these town hall meetings, the turnout so far is, um, being nice about it, well below expectations.
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Forty to 50 the first night. Thirty the second night. Thursday is the third town hall, this one in Homosassa. I’m hoping for more, but no expectations.

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I’m frankly a little surprised these haven’t caught on. Something’s clearly missing in the message. Or, just as likely, folks have their minds and lives elsewhere at the moment.

The process makes sense. Everyone who attends has the opportunity to fill out a feedback survey. They can also ask questions during the meetings. Plenty of opportunity for citizen input.

Yet, for some reason, it hasn’t captured the public’s attention. Not sure what to make of that. But we can’t ignore it.

Are we trying to cram too much into a short time frame? Is there so much happening right now that we can’t even wrap our heads around a sales tax? Would 2028 be a better election target, giving us more time to organize as a community, coalescing the sales tax increase with impact fees, concurrency, road resurfacing, and a comprehensive plan rewrite?

The answer: Perhaps. Worth talking about.

Remember, the One for All idea originated here. My aim is for the community to support a 1-cent sales tax increase to fund the projects it wants. The opposite of that aim is an ill-advised referendum that fails to capture the community’s spirit and thus falls flat at the ballot box. If we lose this one, forget asking again for another 20 years.

I’m not discounting the opinions of those who attended the meetings and participated in the survey. There’s been high support for the sales tax vote from the first two town hall meetings. 

Soon, this week I'm told, the Chamber of Commerce will have town hall info on its website, including answers to questions posed at the meetings. I also understand they’re developing a way to comment online. I have not heard anything about streaming or video recording the town hall meetings, but I hope that’s on someone's radar.

And I’ve added a “One for All” page to my Just Wright Cirus website that has links and other sales tax-related info. It’s a work in progress, so send me suggestions.

I see three challenges:

— It’s not so much that we're low on turnout, it's that we're also in a very tight timeframe. The aim is a county commission vote by November 2025 for a November 2026 referendum. To meet that timeline, the chamber’s report is scheduled to come to commissioners in August, so they have time to decide what the ballot language will be…if that’s the route they take.

You see the dilemma. Low turnout suggests more community conversation may be needed. Or it could mean people are on summer vacation. Either way, we’re up against that same deadline.

Here’s hoping the next two town hall meetings fill some seats. They are this Thursday, Stillwater Preserve Clubhouse, 2862 S. MacArthur Terr., Homosassa; and Tuesday, June 24, Citrus Springs Community Center. Both start at 5:30 p.m. with doors open at 5:15.

— There is a lot on the County Commission’s plate. Earlier Monday, the county posted the agenda for an impact fee workshop next Monday morning. Well. That consultant's report is an eye-opener. Not surprisingly, it recommends significant increases in impact fees. Our fees could jump from some of the lowest in the state to near the highest.

Commissioners and citizens are eager for the impact fee debate. It’s one of numerous high-stakes studies that are now in the works or will be. We don’t know what a comp plan rewrite looks like. We don’t know about concurrency or a C.R. 491 corridor study. Road resurfacing is going through a major review right now. There is so much we do not know, and we will know in the next 12 months.

Trying to pass a sales tax increase in the middle of all those unknowns seems unattainable. Would it make sense to wrap it all together? I’m just asking.

—And yeah, that brings me to 2028. Not my choice for a referendum. We’re much better off on a non-presidential ballot.

But I can’t ignore these optics. Unless the feedback significantly increases in the next few weeks, we’re not giving the community enough opportunity to join in. 

Let’s keep this process going, keep the conversation on the front page, and see what happens.

We’ll get it right. I’m confident of it.

Have an awesome Tuesday, friends.

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