Clearwater commissioners want to see what direction the county will take on the proposed 6-cent-per-gallon increase.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published September 30, 2003
CLEARWATER - City commissioners decided Monday to reserve judgment on whether to support the county's proposed gas tax increase.
Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt attended the commission's Monday morning work session to brief them on the proposed gas tax increase of up to 6 cents. The county is lobbying to increase its current 6-cent gas tax to fund countywide transportation projects and improvements.
County commissioners had originally set a Nov. 18 deadline to take action on the issue but have since delayed the decision.
"The board specifically directed that there not be a date-of-action so that they could take whatever time was necessary to hear the public comment and work with the cities to determine their preference," Spratt said Monday.
Clearwater commissioners discussed the proposed increase Monday but delayed action until the first of the year when the county will have a better sense of its timing on the issue.
They will spend the next couple months getting feedback from residents, along with input on the public's top traffic concerns.
The county hopes to get cities' endorsements but can enact the tax without them. A supermajority of five of the seven county commissioners is needed to pass it.
At the first public information meeting last week, residents complained about the timing of a gas tax hike. The proposed effort comes as gas prices have jumped 12 cents per gallon in the past month and 20 cents since June.
"I think their timing, by no fault of their own, is unfortunate because of the spike in gasoline prices at the present time," Clearwater Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton said. "I believe there is a silent majority of people who really understand the big picture and are not opposed to it."
An additional 6-cent county tax would bring in about $3.8-million for each penny, or about $23-million a year for as long as 20 years, according to county estimates.
The county collects 75 percent of the current tax and cities split the rest. The county is proposing splitting the first 5 cents of the increase in a similar fashion, with the sixth cent collected entirely by the county.
Clearwater Commissioner Frank Hibbard said some of the residents he has talked with want to see the money go toward easing traffic congestion rather than beautification projects.
