TAMPA, Fla. — Plans are in movement to get half a billion {dollars} meant for transportation upgrades in Hillsborough county that is been stalled for greater than 3 years.
After an almost three 12 months maintain up, half a billion {dollars} is coming again to Hillsborough county to tackle transportation.
In 2018, neighborhood members had been ready to acquire sufficient petition signatures to put All for Transportation on the poll. It was an initiative geared toward gathering a penny tax particularly for transportation initiatives in Hillsborough county.
55% of cash collected by the tax was supposed to be break up between Hillsborough county, the City of Tampa, Plant City, and Temple Terrace with funds primarily based on inhabitants. The different 45% was slated to go to HART for public transportation.
But the all for transportation tax was thrown out after County Commissioner Stacy White filed a lawsuit claiming Florida statute says residents cannot dictate how tax cash is spent. That left half a billion {dollars} meant for highway initiatives caught in limbo.
“It generated about $512 million in tax revenue. That money sat in government accounts while the lawyers fought things out and the litigation on,” mentioned All for Transportation Co-Founder Tyler Hudson.
Tampa City Council members obtained an replace on the standing of the cash at Thursday assembly.
“Our constituents are complaining every day about lack of sidewalks, lack of crosswalks, lack of bike lanes, potholes, roads that are just falling apart. And we need to figure out how to how to fix those,” mentioned Councilmember Bill Carlson.
Just final week, Judge Rex Barbas determined the half 1,000,000 {dollars} in collected tax cash will finally go in direction of highway initiatives in Hillsborough County; however the destiny of the cash will be determined in Tallahassee.
Director of Mobility Vik Bhide offered an replace to the council. He mentioned there’s now a timeline for when the cash will transfer.
Judge Barbas’s order mentioned inside ten days, the funds should be returned to the County Clerk. Then, inside 20 days, the Clerk has to switch that cash to the Department of Revenue.
“By September 1, the Department of Revenue will be required to send a plan to the legislature, and then it’s in the hands of the legislature from there,” Barbas mentioned.
City council members mentioned now could be the time to inform legislators the way you need the cash to be spent.
“I want to make sure that it’s not a pet project, that it’s something that is that is needed by the public, not something that somebody can put their name on but something that solves the actual problems that the public is interested in solving,” mentioned Carlson.
County commissioners have not put an merchandise on the agenda to focus on its subsequent steps. That contains if it plans to ship legislators an inventory of initiatives to prioritize.
Co-founder of All for Transportation Tyler Hudson mentioned it is good news to lastly see the cash go in direction of highway initiatives.
“But it’s late and it’s not enough, we know that we already have $13 billion transportation project backlog in Hillsborough county because we haven’t spent enough on transportation, for decades, and between the inattention and delay plus all the new people that are coming here, we’re at a real break point,” mentioned Hudson.
He provides there’s even potential good news for voters.
“What’s going to be on the ballot in November is exactly that. It’s going to be adding one cent to the sales tax. And what that’s going to do is it’s going to fund anywhere between 200 to $300 million dollars a year that can go to where the transportation projects are,” Hudson mentioned.
Hudson mentioned that tax might be the reply to a rising drawback, particularly as Tampa continues to see file inhabitants development.