Sales surtax, Heritage Trail money on County Commission agenda

Sales surtax, Heritage Trail money

on County Commission agenda

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

The Board of County Commissioners will debate the levying of a new sales surtax to pay for emergency fire services and facilities when it meets at 9 a.m. Jan 20, at the Marathon Government Center, 2798 Overseas Highway, in Marathon.

Specifically, the Commission will consider “A proposal to explore the use of a relatively new state statute that allows local governments to enact an ‘Emergency Fire Rescue Services and Facilities’ sales surtax of up to one penny,” according to the meeting agenda. “The money raised must be used to reduce property taxes. In Monroe County, a penny surtax would raise approximately $34 million, with tourists paying about 60 percent (about $20.4 million). In 2014, fire rescue services throughout the Keys cost $29 million, which was entirely funded by property taxes. The statute does not say what can be done with any extra revenue raised from the surtax. The proposal suggests looking into the possibility of using it for unmet social services.”

At least one BOCC member isn’t all that keen on the idea.

“We’ve talked about this before in the county, just to feel everybody out,” Commissioner Sylvia Murphy said on Monday. “On the face of it, I don’t care for it, but we’ll see what information they have on it. I don’t like it because it’s another tax. One more tax piled on top of others. We’ll have to see what it will accomplish and go from there.”

In addition to the tax proposal, the meeting will provide the “Third opportunity for public input regarding the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s proposed ‘Vacant Lot Retirement and Hotel Unit Allocation Rule,’” the agenda reads. “This proposed rule allows up to three Keys communities to be granted a combined 300 hotel units in exchange for giving up development rights on private residential property that meets certain environmental criteria.

“This is done at a 3:1 ratio, with three private lots losing development rights for every one hotel unit awarded. One goal of the program is to reduce state and local government exposure to potential lawsuits from taking claims when the county reaches the state-mandated limit of new building permits that can be issued. The DEO is expected to hold initial public input meetings on this proposed rule later this month.”

This is another idea Commissioner Murphy doesn’t have much time for.

“I don’t think there’s too much in favor of that one,” she said. It would leave us with hotel rooms, which affects affordable housing, which we’re trying to do something about.”

Also on the agenda is the “Approval of County Commission resolution to support the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s 2016 legislative budget request of $13.5 million to repair unsafe historic pedestrian bridges” on the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.

“Absolutely we’ll go for that one,” Murphy said. “We’ve got to help them along to get that money.”