When the Nov. 6 elections roll around, Alachua County voters will have a say in whether local sales taxes should increase.
The Alachua County Commission put a referendum on the ballot about whether to add a sales tax that would raise $550 million to repave roads.
The surtax will add a .75 percent sales tax to most items already affected by the tax.
During a series of meetings to discuss transit improvements, the city and county commissions decided at the beginning of the year that an additional sales tax could improve Alachua County’s transit system.
“The city and the county agree on the fact there’s a problem with the transit system,” said City Commissioner Thomas Hawkins.
The city plans to use the money for road projects to loosen congestion.
The county plans to use the money for road repair, said Tricia Kyzar, county public works administrative assistant.
Hawkins said he’s bothered that the county insists the surtax be used on road repairs instead of transit projects.
“We’ve got to have transit,” he said. “There’s a problem with transportation in the community, but taking better care of the roads isn’t going to solve the congestion.”
Alachua County has 666 miles of paved roads, said County Commissioner Lee Pinkoson. He said the county has about $380 million in unfinished infrastructure projects.
The county estimates the new tax could bring in $22.5 million every year, which, over the course of its suggested 15-year life, would total about $340 million.
He said the money from the current gas tax isn’t enough to address that need, which is why the extra sales tax is necessary to complete the project.
Originally, most of Gainesville’s road and transit problems were fixed by funds received from a fuel tax.
But the County Commission suggested the tax isn’t as effective as the county would like because hybrid vehicles are using less fuel, some people are driving less to save money, and the tax isn’t being adjusted for inflation.
The county stated fuel taxes have dropped by about $600,000 since 2008.
The city and county went through a few variations about how money from the surtax should be split.
The city of Gainesville and Alachua County were supposed to evenly share about 86 percent of the money from the surtax. The remaining 14 percent was to be divided between the remaining cities.
But the County Commission changed its mind on May 22.
Pinkoson said the new plan is to give 43 percent of the funds to the county, 16 percent to outlying municipalities and the rest to the city of Gainesville.
Pinkoson said fixing roads is the county’s main priority with this proposed surtax.
“All the people have to do is drive around, and they’ll see the roads need some help,” he said.
Contact Alex Catalano at acatalano@alligator.org.
