What Can You Do About It?
By Ted Corcoran, President/CEO, Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce
Daily for the last ten years, I’ve been asked by residents and friends: What can I do about the traffic? or the flooding? or public safety? in my neighborhood. Unless you were an elected official and had a bunch of money, the answer was normally: there is nothing you can really do. Until now…
On November 6, 2018, we can all vote “YES” to enact a local optional sales tax in Okaloosa County for the next ten years. A local optional sales tax is where the citizens of a county vote to add an optional sales tax to be spent only on specific capital expenses that will transform their community.
And I am pleased to advise that EVERY city council in EVERY county voted to support this ten-year half penny referendum, which is for county use only. Perhaps the school board may vote to add a referendum to repair our aging school structure in the next year or so.
Okaloosa County is one of only three—out of 67 Florida counties—that does not have a local optional sales tax. Due to state statutes, each county starts with a 6% tax base. Escambia sales tax rates are 7.5%, Santa Rosa County 7.5%, Walton 7% and Bay 7%. If you have visited those counties lately, you should have seen the return on their projects. Our new sales tax rate would be 6.5 per cent, well below our neighbors.
Where can the money be spent?
It can only be spent on capital projects, such as infrastructure: roads, sidewalks, bike paths; flooding control, storm water management, and water quality. It can also enhance our public safety departments: sheriff, police departments, EMS, and everything else that maintains and upgrades the quality of life that we love here in Okaloosa County.
It’s all earmarked for transformational projects, such as PJ Adams Road Bypass in Crestview and dozens of other projects throughout the county. This money cannot be spent on administration salaries, etc.
Where does the money for these types of projects traditionally come from?
Currently, the only way to increase funds for these capital projects is to penalize the property owners by increasing ad valorem or property taxes. A local optional sales tax is a consumption tax—which means everyone in the county who buys something helps contribute to the total. About 56% of the sales tax collected in Okaloosa County is generated during the tourist season, which means that all our visitors who buy something in our county are assisting in repairing our infrastructure—that’s only fair since they use it, right?
To get the same amount of infrastructure repair monies that this sales tax will generate—we would have to increase our property taxes between 25 to 30 percent!!! Now, that is not fair.
How much and how is the money divided?
Half a penny surtax will generate $18 million dollars per year for the next ten years. Twelve million goes to the county and six million is divided amongst all cities according to their population. The county has already created a list of projects that may benefit where you live—and your city has created a list of projects for which they will use the monies. Check the website ItJustMakesCents.org for the proposed list.
Maximizing the monies collected
Just as you get interest on your bank account, the county and its cities can leverage the monies to get more value. For example, the PJ Adams Crestview bypass will cost $200 million to complete. FDOT is considering allocating $100 million and Triumph around $50 million. Both of these are contingent on having the county pay their fair share. The city of Crestview will contribute $1 million per year, and the county estimates a $5 million contribution per year. All of which will be coming from the half penny surtax. When the surtax passes, the PJ Adams project could be done in 5 years. If it doesn’t pass, it will take the county up to 25 years to save enough money to make it happen.
The leveraging part means that the county will have a $200 million road project that will only cost them $30 million. From 2010 to 2014, our county had to turn down $50 million in FDOT and other grants… because we didn’t have any of the matching funds.
Also, cities can bond the money—which basically means use their money for collateral. Thus, if Niceville or Destin receives $1 million dollars per year for ten years, they can bond that money for 3 to 5 times that value. Thus, $10 million might turn into $50 million!!!
The total amount of transformational monies that may be generated as a result of voting “YES” on November 6 is over half a billion dollars—all to be reinvested in Okaloosa County.
Don’t trust the government?
The Board of County Commissioners has established an advisory council of citizens to be the overseers of the projects. Also, all projects will be listed on the county website, so residents will be able to keep track of what projects are being worked on. All of the monies collected will be spent on these transformational projects—and only in Okaloosa County.
It has been many, many years since the residents of Okaloosa County have had the chance to vote “YES” for a local optional sales tax to address our infrastructure issues. I have lived in Okaloosa County since 1990 and it has been a magical place for me to raise my family and enjoy a wonderful livelihood. I can only imagine how the next ten years will unfold as we work diligently on our traffic, flooding, and public safety concerns.
We have this opportunity to transform Okaloosa County—and enhance the quality of life for us all. So, on November 6, please vote “YES” on the county referendum general election ballot.
