Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tampa Bay Business Journal article:
Sandy Murman surveys constituents on how they want to fund transportation
Jun 3, 2016, 4:14pm EDT
Commissioner Sandra Murman has emailed a transportation survey to her constituents in an effort to find out how they want to pay for repairs and improvements.
The survey comes in the wake of continued disagreement over how to to fund Hillsborough County’s current and future transportation needs. In a 4-3 vote last April, Hillsborough County Commissioners decided not to place the Go Hillsborough half-cent sales tax referendum on the November ballot, taking a significant step backward in getting a unified plan on transportation.
Murman’s short survey asks participants to rank different sources of revenue on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the most preferable source and 5 the least.
“In terms of what you would most prefer to utilize for transportation repairs and improvements, including transit and improved bus service …”
- Pay a 15-year ½ cent sales tax
- Pay a 10-year ½ cent sales tax
- Pay a 5-year ½ cent sales tax
- Pay a 15-year ½ cent sale tax
- Pay a 10-year ¼ cent sales tax
- Pay a 5-year ½ cent sales tax
- Utilize 5-cent per gallon tax option
The first three would generate $117 million in revenue per year, and the next three provide $58.5 million a year while the gas tax would raise $18 million per year.
The survey also asks participants to answer yes or no on whether they would support re-prioritizing the county budget to put more revenue toward transportation.
They are also asked if they support having a dedicated source of revenue for transportation that does not involving raising taxes, like a “transportation increment tax fund and if they support merging the two bus systems — Hillsborough Area Regional Transit and Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority.”
Murman is seeking to get all responses by June 7.
Under the defeated Go Hillsborough initiative, the bulk of money generated in the first 10 years would have gone to Hillsborough County, which would have received $649 million or 55 percent. The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority would have gotten $294 million or 25 percent of the funds for the bus system that it operates.
The city of Tampa, which was looking to extend its historic streetcar and build a rail system between downtown andTampa International Airport, would have received 17 percent or $198 million. Plant City would gotten two percent or $20 million while Temple Terrace would have gotten 1 percent or $14 million.
Sales tax plans to fund transportation have proved unpopular in the past. In November 2014, the Greenlight Pinellas penny sales tax initiative was defeated. And in 2010, a referendum to fund a rail-focused transit system also failed.
Frances McMorris
Reporter
Tampa Bay Business Journal
