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Penny sales tax getting consideration

The county administrator says such a tax would be just one way to pay for road projects, hospital improvements and more.

By ASJYLYN LODER
Published October 27, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - "Penny for Hernando" doesn't have quite the same ring as "Penny for Pasco," but county voters may have a chance to consider it nonetheless.

A 1-cent sales tax is among the options likely to be proposed by outgoing Hernando County Administrator Gary Adams.

Adams is working up a roster of big-ticket expenditures the county will face in the near future, along with some possible ways to pay for them.

"What I am putting together is really, I guess, an outline of what the problems are and then what I see as some potential solutions, and then whatever the options are to pay for it, and there are several," Adams said Wednesday.

His report may be available to the commission as early as Tuesday, Adams said.

Adams enumerated road projects, possible renovation of the old Brooksville Regional Hospital, new county parks, and meeting the county's need for additional office and court space as some of the more expensive upcoming projects.

As for how to pay the bill, Adams listed several options: borrowing, raising the property tax rate, looking for state and federal grants, saving money on services, or a sales tax.

George Zoettlein, director of the county's budget office, said he hoped to see the 1-cent sales tax on the ballot next year.

Zoettlein supported the county's failed 2004 referendum to add a half-cent to the sales tax. The tax would have generated a projected $70-million over 10 years. When voters turned it down, it left the county with few ways to raise money for new projects without increasing the property tax rate, he said.

"It's two years later, and we're looking at what we need to fund different projects, especially road projects," Zoettlein said, adding that a new sales tax would help the county lower the property tax rate, giving property owners some relief.

Pasco County voters approved a similar "Penny for Pasco" sales tax increase last year. The money will pay for improvements to roads, schools, public safety and other county infrastructure.

Hernando voters defeated the county's half-cent sales tax increase in March 2004 while supporting a similar increase for public schools. The county tax garnered 43 percent of the vote; the school tax won 55 percent.

But Zoettlein considered the loss a decent showing and said he thought voters might be more receptive this time.

County Commission Chairman Robert Schenck, who opposed the 2004 sales tax proposal, said he was unlikely to support another sales tax referendum.

"I think the voters have spoken pretty clearly," he said.

Commissioner Nancy Robinson, a strong supporter of the 2004 measure, said she would have to review the county's other options first, but she said a sales tax would help lift the burden from local property owners.

Commissioner Diane Rowden on Wednesday voiced strong support for a sales tax, as she did in 2004.

"This is the best way that we have to take the burden off the property owners that are left holding the bag for all the taxes for the infrastructure," Rowden said. "We need to get relief for them."

Information from Times files was used in this report. Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352 754-6127.

[Last modified October 27, 2005, 01:28:19]