Orange County commissioners vote to add penny sales tax measure to November ballot

Orange County commissioners got the four votes needed to approve Mayor Jerry Demings’ penny sales tax to improve transportation issues.The measure passed in a 4-3 vote Tuesday night after four hours of public testimony and 40 public comments.The move would push Orange County's sales tax to 7.5% but only if it is approved by voters in November. "I will work hard for the people between now and Nov. 8 to try to convince everyone we are asking to vote for this that they will benefit in some way,” Demings said.Commissioners Victoria Siplin, Emily Bonilla and Nicole Wilson were opposed. Wilson wanted 60% of the funds to go toward transit. In the end, commissioners agreed to allocate 45% to transit, 45% to the county and 10% to municipalities.Commissioners agreed to have an independent citizens’ oversight committee to make the projects more transparent. It would consist of 11 members that would appoint a chair and vice chair by January 2024. Still, that wasn't enough for Wilson who oversees District 1.“The public trust is very wobbly right now. So having something that really is not super clear after hearing that their vote for Split Oak may not mean anything in the end, I wasn't comfortable with that,” Wilson said."Everything that we will do. Every decision we will make on spending those dollars, if this passes in November, will be in a public forum,” Demings said.The mayor reassured that this will not impact property taxes.Voters would need to vote it in on Nov. 8, 2022. Collections would begin Jan. 2023Orange County's proposed penny tax: explainedWho doesn't want an easier trip out the door in the morning? Or home at night?That's what Orange County is banking on as it tries to sell residents on long-needed and wanted upgrades to bus, train and road transportation across Central Florida's largest county. "I know that when I look around the world at the most attractive communities, the most urban metropolitan communities, they all have a true multi-modal mass transit system with options, and we do not. And if we want to be a world-class community, this is one of those areas that we've got to improve," Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said.Getting There: A look at how transportation is changing in Central FloridaThe county is hoping voters will back changing the transportation landscape by approving a one-cent hike in the local sales tax.MORE: Click here to read the full tax initiativeThe proposal raises Orange County's sales tax from 6.5% to 7.5%.That would put it in line with surrounding counties' tax rates and generate nearly $600 million per year for public transit improvements.But what does it mean for your wallet?Here's the breakdown:If your lunch costs you $5 at a restaurant, the tax on it is currently 33 cents. With the proposed tax increase, that $5 lunch now totals 38 cents in tax.The more you spend, the more transportation tax you'll pay.If you're making a big-ticket purchase, the max you'll be taxed on is $5,000.Just like sales tax now, you will not be taxed on essential purchases like groceries and medicineOrange County estimates that over a year's time, it will be an extra $391 out of your pocket.So now that you know what you could be paying, let's talk about what you're paying for.The money generated — that $600 million a year — will be split into three categories.45% for Lynx buses and SunRail45% for dealing with existing traffic on local roads, bicycle and pedestrian lanesThe last 10% will go to cities in Orange County to deal with the roads they manageThe proposed improvements to that first category would allow SunRail to grow farther east and west, with service to Orlando International Airport and the big one: expanding service to nights and weekends, with trains running much more frequently.The new tax money also more than doubles the Lynx bus fleet, from the current 300 buses to 700. With shorter routes running more often, more regional express lines, more stops and stations.The second category of funds would pay for the expansion and maintenance of clogged roads.The plan to make it better?Add designated bus lanes and pay for high-tech monitoring and traffic control systems, like smart stoplights.Part of this pool of money includes bike lanes and ways for walkers to be safer along local roads."Biking is not just used for leisure, there are people like myself who would like to commute to save money and to save time. I'm part of a community that would like to see a better bike infrastructure in the Central Florida and Orange County area," resident Joanna DeRosa said.The last piece of the pie, that 10%, will be divvied up amongst the 13 cities in Orange County and help them pay for their portion of road improvement projects."We are asking our residents to step up to the plate and put some skin in the game," Demings said. "If you pay this extra penny, 1%, that $600 million is going to be reinvested back into the community."Since 2000, Orange County's population has grown by half a million people and there are no signs it's slowing.But it's also the top tourist destination in North America, one of the busiest in the world, with the world's largest theme parks.Pre-pandemic, those theme parks enticed nearly 76 million visitors every year.All of the visitors were buying and spending and paying local taxes.This brings us to some more math:Half of all tax revenue generated from the new tax, 51%, would come from tourists.Having that stable source of revenue has a bonus: boosting the county's ability to win matching dollars from the state and federal government.But first, the Orange County Commission has to sign off on the plan, which if they do, would then go to voters on the November ballot."There are going to be others who are going to oppose this simply because they are anti any type of tax increase but we simply cannot do everything that needs to be done with the current revenue streams we have. In order to adequately address these issues it takes a new dedicated funding source," Demings said.The mayor said it's all about Florida's future."We are losing talent from our community to other metropolitan communities, especially our young adults, because they tell me, one of the things we don't have here is a transportation system where they don't have to depend on automobiles," he said.And those young adults, and other newcomers, have some very specific wants and needs."We need to surround any transit investments we make with dense affordable housing to support transit ridership," resident Tackee McMullen said.Mayor Demings has made over 250 appearances to convince voters to support the Transportation Tax.He's done it alone. No other political leaders have joined him up front."This is my home. I was born and raised here and I've dedicated the last 41 years to improve this community," he said. "I am here to not just accept the status quo but to be an innovative disruptor, to kind of change the trajectory of our community. In order to do that, you have to be bold sometimes and take some risks. I'm OK with assuming some political risk to try and improve my own community."Demings says the Transportation Tax will free up close to $100 million in the current budget, more money to tackle other tough problems like affordable housing, mental illness and mental health, substance abuse disorders, and homelessness."Transformational to me means if we do this right, there will be this intersection with improving housing affordability, improving the overall quality of health. Transformational means that we will do things like we've never done it before," he said. "So this is something that can totally improve the overall quality of life for the majority of people in our community."