CLEARWATER - A move is afoot to expand the local transit tax to the entire county.
But the leaders shepherding the change are clashing over how the millions of new tax dollars raised by the expansion would be spent.
"It's a very complicated process," said county Commissioner Bob Stewart, one of six elected officials on a special committee proposing the expansion.
Despite the uncertainty, two local governing boards already have endorsed the idea of asking everyone to pay the transit tax that currently goes toward running the county's bus system.
That sets up a vote by the County Commission in the new year. The change then would have to be approved by the Florida Legislature and later pass a countywide referendum.
At the moment, homeowners and businesses in most Pinellas cities and unincorporated communities pay the special tax supporting the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, which operates buses in many parts of the county.
But residents in five cities and two unincorporated communities are exempt from the tax, and they are also without bus service.
The committee wants property owners in Treasure Island, St. Pete Beach, Kenneth City, Belleair Shore, Belleair Beach, Tierra Verde and unincorporated South Pasadena to be taxed. That would clear the way for the PSTA to become a countywide transit authority that could someday oversee a proposed commuter rail.
They would join others who pay $0.6319 per $1,000 of taxable property value, or $63.19 a year on a home worth $125,000 (after subtracting the $25,000 homestead exemption).
But the committee leading the drive, which is made up of three county commissioners and three city officials, has yet to agree on how to spend the estimated $2.3-million that would come from the expanded tax. Nor are they certain who would serve on the expanded transit board.
Some would like to see the money go back into a bus system that already has a $38-million annual budget. Others think it would be better spent on the next phase of a $1.5-billion light rail loop connecting Clearwater Beach and St. Petersburg, which has not been approved.
Despite those key differences, the bureaucratic wheels are spinning. The committee already had received the support of the PSTA board and the county's transportation planning board voted to send it along this week.
Should the County Commission approve the measure at its Jan. 6 meeting, the resolution would head to Tallahassee. The PSTA was created by a special act and changes to the taxing district must be approved by the Legislature.
State Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, has offered to file the bill. That would clear the way for the necessary countywide referendum, which could take place as soon as theNovember general election.
"Everybody has the opportunity to receive the service and everybody pays for it," said county Commissioner Calvin Harris, who chairs the PSTA's board and is also a member of the special committee.
Harris is pushing to use the added revenue for new bus lines.
"I think there are a lot of excellent service options that we can offer that won't include rail," Harris said. "Rail is very expensive."
But county Commissioner Stewart, who serves with Harris on the special committee pushing the expanded tax, contends the group was formed just for that reason: to figure out a way to raise money needed for the next phase of the light rail project.
He's troubled by the thought of sending the proposal to Tallahassee with two unresolved issues.
"My point is, I don't want to put an issue on the ballot that raises more questions than it answers," Stewart said. "If we don't address the issue of governance, and the issue of how the money will get spent - that's a big issue."
