TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hillsborough County commissioners are one step closer to updating the community investment tax.
This is a half-cent sales tax that has been in place for nearly 30 years.
The tax would raise $2.3 billion, with a quarter of that going to school districts.
Currently, county commissioners are cutting the school share of that tax from 25% to 5%.
“Even 10% would have been a benefit to them and would have given the schools the funding they needed, and they failed to do that,” Hillsborough County parent Damaris Allen said. “It hurts our people, it hurts our families.”
For Commissioner Michael Owen, the 5% was a compromise because he wanted to exclude the district from the tax entirely after the school board passed a miscellaneous tax referendum Tuesday night.
“If I knew the solution to the school problem was to keep pouring money into the school, that’s what I would do,” he explained. “But looking at our track record, that’s not the case for me.”
Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent Van Ayers pointed to the county’s housing needs and said more students should be expected if commissioners approve new construction.
And as the number of children increases, the number of schools will also increase.
“Construction of new buildings also comes with the need for new schools. So our request is to include a community investment tax, because these are the buildings that this county commission approves, so the construction of new schools. “It’s important that we have some money coming back to us for this,” he said.
Ayers attended Wednesday’s county commission meeting hoping for 10%.
“The funds we generate to build new schools are generated through impact fees,” he explained. “We have approximately $454 million in new construction funding over the next seven years.”
“We will only generate $210 million through impact fees, leaving us with a $244 million shortfall,” Ayers continued.
The superintendent had hoped to have most, if not all, of that shortfall covered through community investment taxes, but Ayers resigned Wednesday with only half of the percentage expected.
“The funding needed for our district would be $187 million,” he calculated. “We just have to do the math again and see what we can do to make up for the shortfall.”
He said the need for funding from this half-cent sales tax is critical as Hillsborough County continues to grow.
“Local investment taxes are capital funds to build more schools,” he said. “This is an urgent need.”
County commissioners had previously warned Ayers that if the school board moved forward with the property tax proposal, the district would be excluded from local investment tax revenue.
On Tuesday night, the school board resolved to ignore that warning and put the proposal on the ballot anyway.
“We know that the needs are different, but we are concerned that the school district will be seen as a second-rounder in both referendums,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan.
Your needs are different.
Money from sales tax is used for construction new Funds from property taxes would pay teachers’ salaries.
The property tax proposal still requires county approval.
Ayers believes that’s what the commissioner has to do.
“For the county commission, it’s a pass-through,” he explained. “I don’t think this is something the county commission can hold on to if the board approves.”
Commissioner Joshua Worstal doesn’t want his hands tied.
“The current thought process is that you have to vote yes, but in my opinion that’s not going to happen,” he explained. “If that’s how the state law is written, we’ll leave it up to the state to amend that law.”
“What’s the point of having elected officials when there’s a law in place that requires them to say yes to items?” Wostal continued.
What if he gets his say?
“If that topic comes up, I absolutely say no,” Wostal said. “I believe property taxes are the most regressive form of tax in existence, making homeownership increasingly unattainable and raising the bar for ‘affordable housing.’ .”
County commissioners will reconvene April 17 at 10 a.m. for a final public hearing on the community investment tax.
Wostal then said voters should focus on August.
“I think the most important thing is not to focus on the wording of the referendum, but to look at the wording of the local agreement, which is not going to happen before August 1st,” he said.
Looking back at the regional investment tax passed in 1996, Wostal said the language of the regional agreement was flawed.
“That’s a place where we gave the farm to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with that tax money, and that’s where we need to have the restrictions that we got verbal support for today. Just make sure they get done in writing. only,” he said. He explained.
