 Happy Wednesday from Bunny! Two words immediately came to mind Tuesday when the County Commission decided to wait two weeks before discussing the sales tax report: Uh. Oh. Wow, what a bummer. Citizens, Chamber of Commerce volunteers, and community leaders have done their parts these last few months gathering input for what I call One for All, the local-option sales tax idea for the 2026 ballot. Their efforts culminated in a report to the County Commission. The report was available a week ago. It’s not difficult to read.
For reasons not divulged, Chair Rebecca Bays said she wanted the discussion in two weeks. She said the public should be ready to give the board its viewpoints at the next meeting. The one thing I feared — commissioners taking control of the sales tax conversation — appears headed in that direction. Bays is the board’s transportation wonk. She said she wants citizens to know the full story. The county has consistently raised the financial estimate needed to get our road network straight. The newest numbers I'm hearing (none of these have been substantiated to the public, so who knows):
Now, those estimates are crazy; I have little doubt the bureaucrats who came up with them know their stuff. But it diverts our minds off the challenge. We’re not having a sales tax to fix the county’s financial problems. The county needs a billion (!) dollars for roads, don’t look at me for that. The sales tax is not a sky-is-falling remedy. One for All is not meant to provide peace of mind for commissioners. Or, if it is, commissioners should just say that: “Folks, we’re broke. Please help.” I envisioned One for All as a gift to us. Yes, we’re adding a tax. But it’s for something specific we can point to and say, “I helped pay for that!” One for All is not a government bailout. At least, I didn’t think it was. Commissioner Jeff Kinnard, who seemed ready to talk about it Tuesday, noted that nearly the same number of survey respondents chose to spend potential sales tax revenue on expanding parks/conservation land as those who supported repaving roads. There’s definitely a push to include both roads and land conservation in the referendum. Putting this conversation off for two weeks seemed unnecessary. I could be wrong. Commissioners may need the extra time to formulate their thoughts. However, considering this board regularly makes important decisions on the fly with little public notice or explanation, it would have been nice for commissioners to at least start the discussion. One good thing with this delay is the chamber will reopen the survey. Maybe we’ll get more participation between now and the next board meeting on Oct. 14. Here’s the link. — Commissioners unanimously approved the 2025-26 budget and tax rate of 8.8733 mills, which is the same tax rate as this year’s, but technically raises taxes 5% because taxable values go up. Commissioners Diana Finegan and Janet Barek voted against the specific library budget. I’d love to tell you why, but honestly, I really don’t care. I guess we’re just always going to have this anti-library element out there. Commissioner Jeff Kinnard supported the library budget but agreed with Finegan and Barek to get rid of something called BookPage, a service that either caters to perverts or is a wholesome approach to book reviews. Depends on who’s doing the describing. You know, I do this for a living, and I really enjoy it. Sometimes, though, it just gets so tired and old. So, our photo today is of Bunny, the JWC mascot, settling in at the new World Headquarters III. We all could use a smile. Have a great 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. Comments are closed.
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AuthorMike Wright has written about Citrus County government and politics for 37 years. 
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January 2026
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