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By DAVID J. FISCHER
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2001
It's not often a single tax can be responsible for changing the face of a community. Recent concern over the Penny for Pinellas program has somewhat glossed over the significant contribution of the Penny in our communities. I offer an explanation of St. Petersburg's administration of Penny funds to provide some additional insight concerning what is being accomplished with the Penny.
When the first 10-year program was being planned in 1989, it was clear the key to voter passage of this tax was a credible program designed to meet community needs. St. Petersburg worked hard to develop a well-rounded program that would improve basic infrastructure -- streets, sidewalks, drainage, parks and recreation facilities -- throughout the city. We knew the success of the program would ultimately depend on several things: delivering on the projects we said we would do; fairly spreading projects throughout the city to benefit all residents; and involving citizens in the development of these projects, so the end result would meet community needs.
So how do we maintain accountability through such a dynamic process over a multiyear period? In St. Petersburg:
We laid out a program of specific projects and general categories in major component areas.
We established measures stating that our program would be deemed successful if we spent within a specific range of the available funding for each major component.
We incorporated these measures in our fiscal policies, which are reconfirmed by City Council each year.
When the Penny was reauthorized, we recomputed those goals so what remained from the first 10-year program could be combined with the new program to ensure there would be no confusion about what was to be done during the next 13 years.
St. Petersburg's program is planned through a six-year capital improvement plan, which is extended every two years and updated annually. We track our expenditures against our policy goals to ensure that even though we are ahead in one component and behind in another in any given year, by the end of the program, we will comply. Our Penny monies are accounted for in separate funds to match the major program components for easy tracking. Every project is assessed for its consistency with the program the voters approved in 1989 and 1997. Finally, we endeavor to produce results we are proud of and serve our citizens well.
I cannot imagine what St. Petersburg or Pinellas County would be today without the Penny. I can assure you our infrastructure would be less acceptable and our property taxes would be higher. Penny projects touch our quality of life and safety in a personal way. Through the Penny, our many visitors help pay for the facilities they use when they visit us, as they contribute at least 30 percent of the sales tax.
Is our Penny program perfect? Nothing is. Do we meet everyone's needs as quickly as they would like? Not easy. Are we delivering on our promises as conscientiously and responsibly as we can? Yes!
Countywide, the program is massive. Managing it and communicating the results is no simple task. It is something all of us must do better. A full decade of positive impact from the Penny makes us even more dedicated to its positive use in the future. I predict the history books will show how significantly "just a Penny" changed the face of Pinellas.
-- David J. Fischer is mayor of St. Petersburg.