This sales tax debate is no picnic

Happy October! Let’s fall into our favorite subject.

I’ve had some interesting conversations the last few days regarding the One for All sales tax effort. Mainly, folks are offering up two angles:

— Not enough data yet to know what citizens really think. More studies are needed.

— Spreading the tax revenue to more than one use.

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Well, let’s just jump right out there. I’m not crazy about either of those options, or anything else that diverts our focus.

A survey of over 500 Citrus County residents, conducted through town hall meetings and online, found 59% support for a 2026 referendum to raise the sales tax from 6% to 7% to fund local projects.

Organizers gave respondents several areas to suggest how the money, estimated at upwards of $25 million a year, should be spent and in what manner. The response leaned heavily toward fixing our road network. A lesser popular use was to buy property to protect it from development.

Hold that thought.

Now. Remember that going into this process, citizens tasked county commissioners with one significant early role: Butt out. Let the citizen-led process, as outlined by the Chamber of Commerce, roll without government interference.

That process required the chamber to solicit opinions, which it did. When commissioners delayed deep discussion until Tuesday's meetings, the chamber reopened the survey for another 10 days.

I haven’t seen the specifics, but here’s what I know: Fewer than a thousand total responses, with continued support for the referendum and continued support to use funds for road repair.

This is the process we all agreed to follow. It wasn’t perfect; it didn’t include professionals holding our hands, pretty much no one to guide us other than our own instincts.

And I like it that way.

There’s a movement to split this tax, should it pass, two ways: Repair roads, and buy conservation land. The North Florida Land Trust would lead the campaign with privately raised funds (no public money).

There’s also a push to redo the chamber’s entire effort. The data wasn’t sharp enough. What exactly did people mean? Let’s bring in experts to explore our feelings.

Bull chips.

First part first. While I look forward to the conversation, we should think long and hard before splitting this tax. For one, we have a pretty good idea about our deplorable road network. We have had no significant conversations about preserving land. And, while “One for All” works on roads, it’s a little unclear how we all benefit from buying property.

As for data, do we have enough? Of course not! We have never ever done this before. We are running on instinct. Some folks involved in this effort really know politics. Others are brilliant at marketing. That experience is helpful, but there is no Citrus County authority on this issue. None of us have run a successful referendum.

Maybe we’re missing so-called experts, but I think we should keep it in the family for now. At this point, I’m less interested in marketing and more interested in community engagement. (And please don’t tell me we have to hire someone to do that.) Conversation, input, debate, common ground, and vision — that’s our mindset until commissioners vote to place it on the ballot. Then, an entirely different conversation starts to take shape.

My bottom line: We are early into a process that is working just fine as it is. The process called for the chamber to solicit public input. It did that. The process calls for county commissioners to review the results and decide whether or not to have a 2026 sales tax referendum. After that, the process calls for public hearings and more public review.

We’ve just started this process. It’s working fine. I’m a process government geek, and my basic philosophy is to keep the process unless there’s a reason to change it. No one has raised a legitimate reason to deviate from the process.

Commissioners will get into all this on Tuesday. Further delays are unnecessary and only dull the conversation. As I told someone the other day, we can data this thing to death. 

One more thing, then I’ll be quiet. You know what occurred between the time the chamber closed the survey and then reopened it a few weeks later? The budget vote.

If ever we would see citizens rail against a sales tax, it would be now. Yet, when organizers reopened the survey, they found continued support for the referendum and using the money to fix roads.

I’m telling ya, citizens are ready to move forward. They want the conversation to start in earnest. 

We need a vote on Tuesday, commissioners. Time to get this party started.

— About today’s photo: I had an idea to use a picnic table to illustrate a park. You see the result. Didn’t get the desired effect, but it’s an odd angle of a picnic table. And at JWC, that’s all the rationale we need.

It’s October. There’s a crispness in the air. Enjoy this beautiful day, friends.

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