Here's one road to a sales tax plan

Happy Wednesday!

The committee behind the sales tax initiative I call One for All is expected to give a report to the County Commission on Sept. 23. The board may, at least by consensus, decide on a referendum for the 2026 ballot.

It’s been a rather low-key local option sales tax campaign thus far. Definitely not the way I would have done it, but I’m trusting the process, knowing that many others want to see this succeed as well.

---

Still, disappointed that we haven’t had any publicity about the survey results. We know about 500 people participated either in person at a town hall meeting, or online. And July was the deadline to participate.

Never one to wait for the official version, I asked around and feel confident with two conclusions:

— There is enough support to conduct a local option sales tax referendum to raise the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent.

— Survey participants said their top priority is repairing the county’s dismal road network.

One of the biggest question marks through this process is what happens after the initial review? Let’s say the steering committee recommends a referendum and commissioners agree. Who around here knows how to run one of these things?

Before going there, a little word about referendum rules. The County Commission, once it votes to place a referendum on the ballot, can’t say boo about it after that. The law says the county cannot spend tax dollars to advocate or defeat a referendum. I’m sure the County Attorney has suggested a complete hands-off approach.

Where it gets dicey and confusing is when citizens want to engage with commissioners on the sales tax. We don’t want to turn this into another quasi-judicial mess where commissioners have to zip their lips with constituents. So, someone might want to clarify that before we get into referendum season.

So, for all intents and purposes, a referendum is a non-governmental affair. It’s an election without candidates. That means someone needs to take One for All and run with it. Someone who knows how to do this. Someone with referendum success in other Florida counties.

Enter the North Florida Land Trust.

The group gave a presentation to commissioners last week. I wasn’t quite sure why they were on the agenda; Commissioner Holly Davis made the introductions.

It seemed a little presumptuous. The survey results aren’t out yet and now we’re talking about a tax referendum to buy conservation land.

But these folks had a deeper message. Their success rate for referendums is quite impressive — 85% of the 123 referendums that North Florida Land Trust oversaw passed, most with at least a 2-to-1 margin.

Twenty-seven counties have passed bond referendums, pledging millions in property taxes to buy property for water and land conservation.

These folks can help us. I don’t know where land conservation ranked in the sales tax priority list, but this group has the framework and resources to gain the public conversation that is necessary to achieve our goals.

Remember…it’s not just a sales tax. It’s a statement about what this county is today and where it’ll be tomorrow. We’re not trying to win a vote. There’s no right or wrong answer. 

This group knows what questions to ask. Sales tax organizers are planning to meet with the North Florida folks to gauge their interest in coming on-board in the Citrus County effort.

I’m looking forward to hearing more about how all this works. A lot of people think this idea is dead before it even leaves the table. While our confidence in county government has waned a bit the last few months, I believe we can rise above that and at least talk about it.

The potential is enormous. Over $25 million annually. One-quarter of that is paid by tourists. We have road networking issues that will cost tens of millions to repair, and that’s not including the widening of C.R. 491, which I’m pretty sure isn’t even included in the survey’s top priority list.

The stars align toward this referendum. If the North Florida Land Trust can help us bring it home, let’s get ‘em on board.

— Thanks to the great advice from JWC readers about transitioning Bunny to our new home. The consensus was nearly universal to bring her in gradually with every visit, and we started that on Tuesday. I’ve never moved with a dog and we’re on our own, so it’s a little overwhelming.

We’ll be back out there again today as the transition continues.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends.

Join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Support the blog by subscribing to JWC Inner Circle for 99 cents/month.

Individual donations are appreciated through Venmo, PayPal, or Patreon.
​