Can commissioners sell the sales tax?

If voters deny a half-cent sales tax in November, Manatee County’s backup plan, essentially, is to cut services and delay infrastructure maintenance.

County officials say the funds simply aren’t in the budget to accommodate much-needed roadway repairs, fund Manatee County Sheriff’s Office needs and other items that cannot be funded through impact fees. Although property tax revenue is  increasing, county officials say it’s not enough to offset the growth that has occurred.

“I know our budget left and right and upside down and backwards,” said Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh. “If this referendum fails, we’re going to have to look at our budget and cut costs, and mainly that involves our Capital Improvement Program. We have almost $1 billion of existing roads needing repair, but we can’t use impact fees for that type of thing. Where does that billion come from?”

Over the next month, county commissioners and county staff members will work to educate the public about the proposed sales tax through a series of presentations that cover the rationale behind the tax, where the money would go and how spending would be controlled. Manatee County spokesman Nicholas Azzara will lead a 20-minute presentation and then county staff will be available at stations to answer questions related to the tax in a one-on-one setting.

The first is Baugh’s presentation on Oct. 4, at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall.

County officials want to convey several key points, as spelled out in April by the Manatee County Citizens Financial Structure Advisory Board. The board was tasked with finding ways to fund the county’s infrastructure needs.

The board found the county has no designated funding source for infrastructure maintenance, and there’s no fat in the budget. The next step is to cut services.

It suggested a sales tax is the fairest tax because it takes the sole financial burden off property owners and allows for tourism to fund about one-third of the half-cent sales tax hike. Impact fees can’t be used for many of the county’s infrastructure needs.

As proposed, half-cent sales tax revenues would be dedicated with 66% going to transportation; 15% to public safety; and 14% to parks and community amenities. It would cost the average family $5 a month, and would bring Manatee County’s sales tax from 6.5 cents to 7 cents per dollar.

“There’s a healthy skepticism anytime a new tax is put before voters, but that’s why we want to take them through the findings of the citizens group,” Azzara said. “We’re overly reliant on property taxes to pay for this government. One-third of Manatee County's property owners are paying two-thirds of our property tax. Some pay nothing or little. The committee found that was an inherently unfair way of doing business. It came to conclusion sales tax is a more fair way to pay for infrastructure needs of growing community.”

Baugh said she supports the tax, but the presentations are meant for information purposes. It’s also a way for the county to combat misinformation circulating about the tax.

“The meeting is just about trying to educate the citizens to let them know how we would go about handling it, and what it could do for their quality of life and that of their children and grandchildren for the next 30 years,” she said. “We want to make sure people are educated and they have the right information to be making their decision.”

Manatee County soon will be deploying signs throughout the county at locations of major projects to direct people to the county’s website on the tax, mymanatee.org/halfcent. It features an interactive map showing 156 projects the county intends to fund through sales tax revenue, and has other information pertaining to the tax initiative.