PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Advocates of the Penny for Pasco sales tax say everywhere you look, you see the benefits.
“If you see a Sheriff’s office vehicle, that was paid for with the penny. The majority of the firetrucks were paid for with the penny,” said Michael Cox.
Cox, a former county commissioner, is chairman of the Pasco Citizens Committee, working to tell voters why they should renew the Penny for Pasco, especially with so many people moving to the county since the last time it was on the ballot.
“At this point, we have 18 years of history behind us. And our county has been very vigilant on the fact that we made promises to the voters and we kept them,” said Cox.
Advocates of the tax say 45% of the money collected is used for county projects, including public safety and transportation. Another 45% goes to the school system, like rebuilding Gulf High in New Port Richey.
“The penny allows us to do renovations as well as build new schools. Additionally, on this Penny project list, we have proposed something that will touch every school. We have safety and security upgrades. We have some facility upgrades. Technology to buy more devices for students as well as network infrastructure,” said Pasco school district assistant superintendent Elizabeth Kuhn.
Advocates said the tax has already brought in more than a billion dollars since 2005.
“(Without the tax) we would be in a world of hurt. We would have higher property taxes. There would be more fees for our everyday lives because, at the end of the day, we need things like this. We need fire trucks out to respond to people. And it’s a quality of life issue,” said Cox.
The remaining 10% of the money collected is divided among Pasco County municipalities.
Voters will decide whether to keep the tax on November 8th.
