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Many of the county’s bridges need to be rehabilitated to preserve their integrity and are on the list of projects to be funded with a renewal of the penny tax.

Renewal of Penny for Pinellas is needed to improve the county’s jail capacity to relieve current overcrowding and allow for growth projections, county officials say.

Improvements to stormwater systems and major drainage and flooding projects are on the list to be funded with the renewal of the 1 percent sales tax.

Penny for Pinellas money is needed to complete a public safety radio system to provide regional communications interoperability throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Money generated from renewal of Penny for Pinellas is earmarked to buy a new public safety complex to replace the existing overcrowded and aged facilities.

Undergrounding of utilities along the Gulf Boulevard corridor is on the list of proposed projects to be funded if voters approve extending Penny for Pinellas.

PINELLAS COUNTY – Who says a penny can’t buy anything these days?

In Pinellas, the “Penny” pays for capital improvement projects for roads, flood control, park improvements, preservation of endangered lands, government facilities, public safety and more.

On March 13 voters countywide will be asked to continue the Penny for Pinellas tax for the third time. Renewal of the tax would generate an estimated $1.94 billion over a 10-year span, 2010 to 2020.

About 10 percent or $225 million would be spent on courts and jails. The county would get 52 percent or $898 million and 24 municipalities would split 48 percent, or $817 million.

Full details on how county and its municipalities propose to spend their shares of the money can be found at www.pinellascounty.org.

“Without the Penny, many public projects would not be completed until years into the future or not done at all,” according to information found at the county’s Web site. “Funding for essential projects would revert back to falling on homeowners’ property taxes.”

Penny for Pinellas came about after the state passed an act in 1985 that forced all counties and municipalities to develop long-term plans for dealing with land use issues and infrastructure needs to achieve communities’ desired quality of life.

“At that time, all capital improvement funds were generated by property taxes, so any big increase in capital improvement spending to implement the county comprehensive plan would mean a resulting increase in property taxes,” according to the history of the penny tax.

Officials decided to ask the voters to approve a 1 percent government sales tax as an alternative to raising property taxes. Voters said yes to the first Penny for Pinellas by a referendum vote on Nov. 7, 1989.

According to the rules, money generated from the tax can only be used for certain projects. It is collected from residents and visitors. Officials estimate that about 35 percent of the money generated the first 10 years came from tourists and part-time residents.

The tax is only collected on the first $5,000 of any purchase. Necessities such as groceries and medicines are not taxed.

The original Penny for Pinellas brought in nearly $828 million during the years 1990 to 2000, which amounted to about 75 percent of all available funding for capital improvements.

The money paid for projects such as the Criminal Justice Center, renovation of the old courthouse and the animal services facility. Penny money paid for Eagle Lake and improvements of many county parks. The money bought improvements for drainage and new sidewalks. The tax helped pay for the Bayside Bridge, improvements to the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, Belcher Road, as well as upgrades for 118th Avenue and Bryan Dairy Road and more.

Voters approved another 10 years for Penny for Pinellas on March 25, 1997, which was expected to bring in $1.36 billion between the years of 2000 and 2010.

That money is currently funding 75 percent of county and municipal capital improvement projects. The tax is paying for the medical wing at the county jail, the Brooker Creek Preserve Educational Center, Pinellas Trail improvements, replacement of the Belleair Causeway Bridge and Memorial Causeway Bridge, a long list of major transportation projects, drainage projects and more.

The county’s list of proposed projects to be funded if voters approve another 10 years of Penny for Pinellas is available at www.pinellascounty.org.

Article published on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007

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