In 2008, we began to notice how more successful counties used their Local Option Sales Tax dollars for infrastructure and capital improvements. Escambia County used theirs for cars.
By Duwayne Escobedo, published Mar. 20, 2008
During the next six years, Sarasota County officials plan to spend about $276 million on 52 capital improvement projects, such as roadways, new libraries, a new health department, park improvements and water and sewer upgrades.
It’s fast tracking the work that is paid for by its one-cent sales tax collections and was originally spread out through 2025. County officials there see it as one way to jump start that area’s sluggish economy.
“Our economy has really taken a significant downturn,” says Deputy County Administrator Dave Bullock. “We have people out of work, even my own son is on unemployment right now. We can’t turn around the state’s or even the region’s economy. What can we do? What’s in our grasp? We found if we move these projects faster, we can reduce our costs and put people back to work.”
In fact, Sarasota estimates as many as 900 new jobs will be created. However, the county will have to go back to its voters for approval of the plan, 70 percent of who supported extending the penny sales tax for 15 years in November. Sarasota uses its sales tax funds strictly for “bricks and mortar-type” improvement projects.
Bullock expects the new spending plan to pass.
“Most people understand the economy is in trouble and they understand we can do some things for improvement,” he says. “We’ve gotten very good reaction.”
Rick Harper, director of UWF’s Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, says such government spending on local services and construction to stimulate the economy has a “very respectable tradition.”
“You don’t want go buy big expensive pieces of equipment like a $30,000 police cruiser when $5,000 stays in the area and the rest goes to Detroit,” he says. “You want to spend it on healthcare and other services and construction where a vast majority of the money stays in the local economy. Using your bonding capacity to borrow from tomorrow’s healthy economy to spend on today’s sick economy does have a positive effect.”
But while Sarasota County officials began analyzing better ways to spend its sales tax collections in light of property tax cuts and an economic slowdown, Escambia County officials are not.
They did begin this month looking at re-prioritizing the county’s about $83 million in general funds and the about $95 million in general fund dollars that go to the five constitutional officers. Their goal is to cut $12 million to $15 million.
Escambia County Commission Chairman Mike Whitehead talked tough during the first budget workshop. A second was scheduled Wednesday, March 19.
“I am not just asking us to see if we can do what we are doing better,” Whitehead said then. “I want you all to start thinking differently. Ask, Are we doing the right thing?’ Nothing is sacred in this budget.”
But Whitehead recently tells an IN reporter that he isn’t open to examining the county’s sales tax expenditures like Sarasota officials did.
“Those projects have been assigned and those revenues don’t fluctuate,” he says.
On the flip side, Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson says he’s willing to look at all the money the county collects and how it gets spent.
“The sales tax is part of the budget,” he says. “All of the budget should be looked at, absolutely. Do we need new vehicles or do we need to reallocate? That all needs to be on the table.”
Robinson likes Sarasota’s stimulus idea to spend on infrastructure-related projects.
“I believe that’s essential,” he says. “With the way the economy is, economic development is what we should be doing right now. Focusing on capital projects creates positive assets for our community and infuses money into our economy. Now, there are some people who get mad when we spend any money. But I’m not going to just leave it in a bank somewhere.”
Leon County, like Sarasota, focuses its sales tax spending on capital projects. In Leon County, the majority of the sales tax collected there-80 percent-goes to Blueprint 2000 & Beyond. The intergovernmental agency spends the money on major improvement projects for Tallahassee and Leon involving transportation, water quality, environmental protection and neighborhood enhancements.
The Leon work began three years ago, after gaining approval from Leon County voters in November 2000.
And Escambia County sales tax money?
For instance, $35 million of the $56.5 million directed to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office through 2017 is slated for vehicle replacement.
That’s more, for example than the $20 million planned for road widening, the $20 million for dirt road paving, the $11.5 million for water quality projects and the $7 million for neighborhood enhancements.
The county also pays for its vehicles, which includes ambulances and fire trucks as well as SUVs and pick-ups, out of the sales tax money.
While “vehicle replacement” is not broken out into a seperate line item for the county’s sales tax budget like it is for reports on the sheriff’s portion of the sales tax money, an Independent News investigation finds that the county’s spending on vehicles amounted to about $4.6 million between fiscal years 2003 and 2007. That’s an average of $926,206 a year over that five-year span. That cost is even higher when you consider special equipment that often must go into outfitting the vehicles for county use, such as computers, communications systems and other items.
And the Independent News analysis of 67-pages of public records shows that the county’s and sheriff’s spending on vehicles is pedal to the metal.
The county poured $1.27 million into 13 vehicles in fiscal year 2007, which included four ambulances and two 2,500-gallon fire tanker trucks. That’s the most spent on vehicles since at least fiscal year 2002, which is as far back as the IN investigation went.
The county did pay $1.24 million in fiscal year 2003 on 11 vehicles, which included four ambulances and one bulldozer.
Meanwhile, the public records show the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spending sales tax money on vehicles at a pace of about $1.9 million a year since 2002. Between between fiscal years 2002 and 2007, the sheriff spent nearly $11.5 million total.
The most money the sheriff paid for vehicles and the often high-tech equipment that goes into them was in fiscal year 2005, when a total of $2.65 million was spent.
And already this year, the sheriff has purchased $1.27 million-worth of vehicles, including 50 Chevy Impalas and 13 Ford Crown Victorias. The county has committed $457,794 to five vehicles, including two ambulances. The price tag jumps to $1.17 million when you include equipment to customize them.
Escambia County and the sheriff’s office use the sales tax money to purchase their vehicles and state law allows it, defining vehicles as “infrastructure.” So the money for vehicles comes on top of the county’s already $83 million budget and the sheriff’s $79.8 million budget.
It’s also interesting to note that the county’s budget has skyrocketed from $50.5 million in 2005, while the sheriff’s has ballooned from $69.1 million in 2005.
Many similar-sized counties contacted by the Independent News, such as Leon, Marion and Sarasota, use their general funds to buy vehicles, devoting sales tax funds to capital projects that stimulate the economy.
And many of those counties, unlike Escambia, have already slammed the brakes on their vehicle spending.
Scott Ross, Leon County’s budget manager, says the county reduced its general funds for vehicles by about $500,000 in preparation for expected funding cuts from the state Legislature’s property tax reforms. It means having to maintain some ambulances longer, he points out. Leon has budgeted $376,800 this year for vehicles and spent $350,000 last year.
Meanwhile, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office also cut back its vehicle purchases, deferring the replacement of 10 cars. It slashed its budget from $1.1 million to $667,444, Ross says.
Marion County spent about $300,000 on light duty vehicles last year-this does not include heavy equipment-and this year will limit that to $100,000, says Fleet Director Michael Zeak.
It wasn’t on the Escambia County Commission’s budget workshop agenda to discuss but the best way to spend sales tax money-about $60 million annually reports the Escambia County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller’s annual Citzens’ Report-may come up in future discussions.
One thing is certain, Sarasota isn’t investing in planes, trains or automobiles anytime soon.
“Vehicles are not included in our capital program,” Bullock says. “It is bricks and mortar-type things that you would expect your government to provide to make its community work.”
1-Cent Sales Tax Allocation by Category (Tax runs through 2017)
Category, Estimated Funds, Percent of Funds
Transportation 87,180,000, 23.06
Drainage 60,540,000, 16.02
Sheriff/Jail Facilities 56,460,000, 14.94
Public Facilities/Community Services 62,625,000, 8.11
Parks & Recreation 19,967,717, 5.28
Public Safety 17,516,004, 4.63
Natural Resources/Community Redevelopment 16,512,283, 4.37
Fire Services 14,485,246, 3.83
Court System 3,008,750, 0.80
Unallocated 39,705,000, 10.50
Total Estimated Funds: $378,000,000
ESCAMBIA COUNTY SALES TAX SPENDING ON VEHICLES
Fiscal Year Amount
2008 to date $1,267,613
2007 $1,841,211
2006 $1,883,236
2005 $2,653,056
2004 $1,862,873
2003 $1,530,732
2002 $1,458,509
Note: The total amount spent on vehicles includes Machinery & Equipment. Equipment is often necessary to outfit the vehicles, such as computers, communications systems and other customized items.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SALES TAX SPENDING ON VEHICLES
Fiscal Year Amount (Amount including Machinery & Equipment)
2008 to date $457,794 ($1,174,117)
2007 $1,272,159 ($1,489,347)
2006 $814,096 ($1,413,309)
2005 $490,877 ($1,078,231)
2004 $812,052 ($1,015,652)
2003 $1,241,847 ($2,096,686)
2002 $346,127 ($352,411)
Note: The total amount spent on vehicles includes Machinery & Equipment. Equipment is often necessary to outfit the vehicles, such as computers, communications systems and other customized items.
Escambia County Vehicles Purchased
Fiscal Year No. Types of Vehicles*
2008 5 2 ambulances, 3 trucks
2007 13 1 SUV, 1 truck, 1 ATV, 4 mowers
2006 13 1 bookmobile, 2 ambulances, 1 emergency vehicle, 1 SUV, 1 truck, 2 mowers
2005 16 11 trucks, 1 cargo van, 1 SUV, 2 tractors
2004 11 7 ambulances, 4 tractors
2003 11 4 ambulances, 3 tractors, 1 emergency ladder fire truck, 2 trucks
2002 5 3 ambulances, 1 van, 1 tractor
Note: Vehicles were not always clearly identified by type in records obtained by Independent News.
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