Sales Tax Help?

Tomorrow's county commission meeting is setting up to be a fun one. I am hearing A LOT of people are upset about the memo they got regarding the fire services MSBU that is being increased. This was discussed at a meeting several weeks ago and voted on by the board. Apparently no one saw that and didn't realize it was approved until they got notices in the mail. I will address this later this week, but for now, worth the mention

So perhaps we see several people address the board on that tomorrow.

Then you have a few things happening: Marijuana dispensaries, ordinances, regulation changes, golf carts on roads, Inverness lease, Pirate's Cove, Stormwater MSBU, Chassahowitzka campground and so on. And then the Pine Ridge Golf Course at 5pm.

I will have more to write tomorrow about some of the items, but this one stood out.

I first heard about this a few months ago when the Chamber was going through the Sales Tax meetings around the county. If you missed those meetings, here is a link that provides you with information.

Basically, it is estimated that a local option sales tax of 1% would bring Citrus County $25m or so each year. This is significant revenue that would be paid for by purchases and not property taxes. Currently, Citrus is one of two counties in the state that does not have a local option sales tax. This is placed on the ballot and is required to pass by a majority of the voters during an election. The next opportunity is 2026.

The Chamber volunteered to take on the role of hosting community meetings to get feedback by citizens. The county is not legally allowed to promote or spend tax dollars to promote a sales tax referendum. The Chamber stepped up and took on that role and did a good job for the most part on educating the public and answering questions.

The main thing here is that they conducted a survey. Those results will be sent to the BOCC at a public meeting at some point in the near future. There, the BOCC will discuss what the survey says and decide if they want to move forward.

Now, let's throw a wrinkle in this for good measure. Here is where North Florida Land Trust comes in.

This is an organization that specializes in land conservation. They have been very successful in what they do.

According to their website: "At NFLT, conservation is about more than protecting land—it’s about protecting the heart of a community. Our work in community conservation focuses on preserving the places that define our shared identity, support local economies, and sustain a high quality of life for generations to come. That means working closely with counties, cities, and neighborhoods to create thoughtful, lasting conservation solutions grounded in community values."

So, how does this relate to Citrus County or the sales tax?

If the county were put the sales tax on the ballot, it would need to include the uses of that money. In theory, it can be used to fund a number of things. It could be lumped together into a single fund. I think most agree, that is a non-starter. Most people don't trust government to spend wisely and recent events like 491 extend that distrust.

The county would need to name very specific things the funds can be used for. Things like roads, fire/ems, public safety, land purchases, public buildings and so on. That Chamber site listed above has a pretty long list of potential uses.

The point is, for any chance of this to pass, the county has to identify specific uses and allocate percentages to those uses. By law, the money from the sales tax can ONLY be used for those purposes. They can be earmarked for roads and spent on buildings. So tracking and accounting for that money is pretty simple.

Now, back to NFLT.

My understanding is that they are experts in getting referendums passed for land conservation. Their presentation claims an 85% success rate. Pretty impressive. What exactly do they do?

Well they work with counties/cities and citizens to try to craft referendums that help expand conservation lands and protect lands from development.

"We don’t lobby or advocate on behalf of governments. Instead, we serve as a guide—helping counties and cities design their own land conservation programs by listening to their people, identifying local priorities, and laying out a clear, realistic path forward."

Basically, they go through 2 Phases. The first phase is meeting with staff and subject matter experts and identifying conservation values for that community. Phase 2 is community workshops, roundtables and other methods of community involvement. A report is then drafted and submitted for review.

Next come the feasibility study where NFLT looks through the data collected and decides if the idea is feasible for that area. Lastly, if they decide it can be successful, they help craft the language of the ordinance, which then appears on the ballot.

Explains their 85% success rate. They only take on projects that have strong community support, based on the research they do.

How does this relate to sales tax?

Well I am told that the idea here is to bring NFLT on board to help push us across the finish line for the sales tax. I would assume this would require the sales tax include funding for conservation of lands. I would assume this would come from money set aside from the sales tax collection to be used for expanding conservation lands in this county via purchase.

I think most people here would support that. The question is then, what does the rest get used for? Perhaps NFLT will help with that, but we will see.

How much does all this cost? That is what is missing. I have heard the fee will be around $10k or so, but not 100% sure. I do not see it on the information provided to the county for the presentation. However, it is my understanding that the county cannot pay this fee, so likely no tax payer funds. It would require an outside funding source.

When this was told to me, I suggested this could be a good thing for developers in this county to jump behind. They can pay the fees for NFLT to do this work. That would then likely result in a proposal that increases the conservation lands in the County if the sales tax referendum passes. The very people "taking" lands in this county for development are then trying to help us conserve more lands. If we want a sales tax, perhaps this is a good option.

We will see how the presentation goes tomorrow and if the BOCC is open to this idea and then hearing from the Chamber at a future meeting to hear their recommendations.

Perhaps it can be a combination of both.