Sales tax arguments take center stage

As advocates for two proposed half-cent sales taxes in Manatee County work to capture community support, they likely will focus their efforts on transparency and impact fees — main topics of those who oppose the taxes.

“I’m concerned about transparency,” Myakka’s Dave Cohen said during a debate and forum hosted Sept. 12 by the Women League of Voters, at the Bradenton Women’s Club.

Voters in November will decide on a new half-cent infrastructure sales tax for Manatee County as well as the renewal of a half-cent sales tax for the Manatee County School District. Both organizations intend to use revenue to fund capital projects and other needs.

If both are approved by voters, Manatee County’s sales tax rate would increase from 61/2 to 7 cents per dollar. Advocates say that averages $5 per household per month — half for the school district and half for Manatee County government.

At the forum, attendees’ questions targeted the school district, in particular, regarding revenue lost by the non-collection of impact fees — fees levied on new construction to mitigate costs for growth — from 2009 to 2016 along with accountability while using half-cent sales tax dollars during the tax’s first 15-year cycle. Impact fees currently are being levied at 50% of a consultant’s recommended rate.

Sales tax proponent John Horne, owner of Anna Maria Oyster Bar and a member of the Forward Manatee Political Action Committee, formed to promote passage of the taxes, told the audience a new school board and administration is in place and the district is moving forward. Revenue for schools will fund capital needs, including technology.

“If it doesn’t pass, you have an extra $2.50 a month in your pocket, or $60 annually, but our children will have $30 million less to help educate them,” Horne said of the school district’s tax.

Mac Carraway, owner of Carraway Consulting and of Forward Manatee, spoke in favor of the tax for Manatee County government. Manatee County proposes, among other needs, to use the revenues to repair and maintain existing roads, expand the Braden River Library and to provide additional funding for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. The school district also will use the revenues on capital projects.

“There exists a significant and growing backlog of infrastructure needs,” Carraway said. “More than half the major roads in the county need repair.”

Carraway said the county’s budget should not, year after year, pit community needs, such as the maintenance of roads and public safety, against other needs. The new sales tax is a sustainable way to provide long-term funding without placing the financial burden solely on property owners. About one-third of revenues are expected to come from tourism.

But Ed Goff, organizer of ourmanatee.com and an opponent to the taxes, said there aren’t sufficient guarantees, at least for now, to ensure revenues are spent appropriately. He also said impact fees should pay for growth and sales tax dollars can go toward new infrastructure, so they could be used to pay for items that should be funded by impact fees.

“It’s a good idea, but the wrong time,” he said, adding a vote should be delayed for at least one year and the tax should be for six years instead of 15. “This is a 15-year obligation. That is a big decision and there are a lot of unanswered questions.”