Penny Sales Tax – Your Penny, Your Projects

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Local Government Infrastructure Surtax Tax (penny sales tax) is a critically important revenue source for Florida local governments and upon approval of voters. The proceeds for the tax may be used to address a wide variety of infrastructure and economic development needs facing local governments. Currently, Leon County levies a sales tax to fund these needs, which expires on December 31, 2019. The majority of the current sales tax has been used to fund Blueprint 2000, a plan created by citizens and embraced by the County and City to holistically plan and construct infrastructure projects that provide sustainable benefits and are more than the sum of their parts. Understanding the critical role in engaging citizens as co-creators, the Board established the Sales Tax Committee that included appointments from the City Commission. The 18-member Committee met for two years, represented a diverse cross section of the community, and highly encouraged public participation. In April 2014, the County and City Commissions accepted the citizen committee’s recommendations and began a public education campaign leading up to the November 2014 referendum. The education campaign engaged citizens in honest and transparent dialogue about the impacts of the penny sales tax extension. In November 2014, voters overwhelming passed the penny sales tax extension, guaranteeing Leon County a future with holistic infrastructure and economic development investments.