Commissioner Murman quoted in this BayNews9 article on transportation plan:
Hillsborough commissioners approve transporation plan dependent on sales tax hikeg list of road improvements included in the transportation plan relies on a proposed half-cent sales tax increase for funding.
By Dalia Dangerfield, Reporter Last Updated: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 5:31 PM
TAMPA —
Hillsborough County commissioners on Wednesday approved an initial transportation plan that could be funded by a sales tax increase.
- Plan includes long list of road improvements
- Funding would come from a half-cent sales tax increase
- Tax increase must go through a referendum
The plan includes a very long list of projects, including but not limted to:
- Sidewalk repairs at schools like Clair Mel Elementary
- More lanes added to Progress Boulevard along the I-75 overpass
- Converting Big Bend Road into a six-lane roadway
The potential transportation projects are contingent, however, on a controversial half-cent sales tax referendum. Hillsborough commissioners have not decided whether to put that referendum on the ballot. “We take one step at a time,” said Hillsborough Commissioner Sandra Murman. If the referendum on the tax increase does make it on the ballot, it’s unclear whether voters will give it the green light. With that possibility in mind, commissioners agreed on a contingency transportation plan, just in case. Soon, the public will be invited to weigh in on that contingency plan, as well. A public hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday at the All People’s Life Center on Sligh Avenue.
