Daytona Beach, FL - Volusia County could have a special election later this year to decide if a half-cent sales tax for road and water quality projects over the next 20 years makes sense.
That's now in the hands of the Volusia County Council after most of the city's mayors endorsed that plan during yesterday's (January 7th) Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials meeting at Daytona Beach International Airport.
That came following a report from Clearview Research which went over a survey last month of 400 Volusia County registered voters indicating that such an election would likely result in the approval of that sales tax proposal, one which was shelved last year by the VCC after public outcry that real estate developers weren't paying what they should in impact fees.
The VCC approved impact fee increases last month, which is expected to bring in an extra $7 million or so yearly.
With that now in place, many of the Roundtable members felt it was time to finally put that measure on a ballot as soon as possible, especially given the survey results and that every municipality in Volusia County has passed resolutions supporting the tax.
Holly Hill Mayor Chris Via was one of the few who expressed some reservations, mainly about the cost of holding a special election this year versus waiting for the next scheduled county-wide election in March 2020.
"I always support the citizens being able to vote their voice and their tax dollars," Via added. "What I can't wrap my arms around is spending half a million dollars to put this out much sooner."
Via is referring to the cost of running an election just for that particular issue, but the Supervisor of Elections has said the actual amount could be less than that, especially if the county opts for an election using mail-in ballots instead of opening up precincts.
DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar didn't support Via, stating that it would rob the county of potentially $40 million in funds for at least a year if they waited that long, assuming voters approved the measure.
Also not on board was Volusia County School Board member Carl Persis, saying the lack of quality infrastructure was hurting teachers and students. Similar half-cent sales tax efforts by the school district for funding new schools and improving older ones passed in 2001 and 2014.
What date this could go in front of the voters is up in the air since a state audit from the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability must be complete and available for a public review period of at least 60 days before the election date.
This item will be on the agenda for Thursday's VCC meeting, the first of the New Year and the first for newly elected members Ben Johnson and Barb Girtman. The former Volusia County Sheriff replaces the termed-out Joyce Cusack in the At-Large seat, while Girtman takes over Pat Patterson's District 1 spot after a narrow victory over him in November.
Daytona Beach, FL - Volusia County could have a special election later this year to decide if a half-cent sales tax for road and water quality projects over the next 20 years makes sense.
That's now in the hands of the Volusia County Council after most of the city's mayors endorsed that plan during yesterday's (January 7th) Roundtable of Volusia County Elected Officials meeting at Daytona Beach International Airport.
That came following a report from Clearview Research which went over a survey last month of 400 Volusia County registered voters indicating that such an election would likely result in the approval of that sales tax proposal, one which was shelved last year by the VCC after public outcry that real estate developers weren't paying what they should in impact fees.
The VCC approved impact fee increases last month, which is expected to bring in an extra $7 million or so yearly.
With that now in place, many of the Roundtable members felt it was time to finally put that measure on a ballot as soon as possible, especially given the survey results and that every municipality in Volusia County has passed resolutions supporting the tax.
