BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Bradford County commissioners took emergency action Monday morning to place a sales surtax referendum on the Nov. 8 election ballot.
In doing so, commissioners were trying to meet a state deadline. There is still time to reverse course, however.
To consider collecting the 1% Emergency Fire Rescue Services and Facilities Sales Surtax beginning in 2023, the commission had to meet a deadline this week to notify the Florida Department of Revenue. This will trigger an audit of the Bradford County Fire Rescue program that must be posted no less than 60 days prior to the referendum.
A majority of voters must approve the referendum for the sales tax increase to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
The revenue would only be available to fund fire rescue services, and beginning with the 2023-24 budget, the commission must roll back the property tax rate based on how much revenue the new surtax would generate. In this way, the surtax is not new revenue, but a revenue source dedicated to fire rescue that draws upon a bigger pool of taxpayers than just property owners. Everyone making taxable purchases in Bradford County would contribute.
The city of Starke would have an opportunity to fund its fire department with a share of the tax revenue as well if the city commission is also willing to rollback its property tax rate.
County staff continue to investigate whether the surtax is a desirable route to take, including talking with Liberty County, which began collecting the tax, but now seems to regret the complications it has created in accountability. (Union County voters previously approved the referendum, but the county had to start the process over because of procedural problems.)
As Chairman Chris Dougherty has pointed out, more counties opt for special assessments to fund fire rescue and other public safety services, and that option also remains on the table for Bradford County.
That being the case, the sales surtax referendum may never make it on the November ballot. There is still time to decide.
According to Supervisor of Elections Amanda Seyfang, she would need to know by Aug. 9 at the latest. The language for the November ballots will be sent to the printer immediately following the Aug. 23 primary, and there must be time to prepare the information for both the English and translated Spanish ballots.
