The collections of the Series IV Local Sales Tax Fund began on Jan. 1, 2018. The total anticipated collections through Dec. 31, 2028 are $87 million. This is a $9 million increase over the last LOST fund (Pennies for Progress) that ran from Jan. 1, 2007 through Dec. 31, 2018.
Here are the budgets for the two funds:
| Series IV | Pennies for Progress | |
| 2018-2028 | 2007-2018 | |
| Fire | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8,116,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 4,342,285 |
| Police | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 14,385,954 | Â $Â Â Â 12,409,455 |
| Public Works | Â $Â Â Â Â 14,450,000 | Â $Â Â Â 7,768,008 |
| Library | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â – | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 6,578,853 |
| Planning Services | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 275,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 533,719 |
| Parks & Rec | Â $Â Â Â 16,400,000 | Â $Â Â 16,844,308 |
| Park Improvements | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 7,582,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 2,369,248 |
| Energy Conversation | Â $Â Â Â Â 5,000,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â – |
| ADA Improvements | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 1,100,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â – |
| Economic Development | Â $Â Â Â Â 7,000,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â – |
| Capital Equipment | Â $Â Â Â Â 8,000,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 127,225 |
| Equipt – Parks & Rec | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 170,000 | Â $Â Â Â 2,948,605 |
| Equipt – Public Works | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â 359,000 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 3,866,184 |
| Â $Â Â Â Â 82,837,954 | Â $Â Â Â 72,497,039 | |
| Interest expense | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4,525,526 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â 5,548,921 |
| Â $Â Â Â Â 87,363,480 | Â $Â Â 78,045,960 | |
| Less Transfers in | Â $Â Â Â Â Â (363,480) | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â – |
| Total | Â $Â Â Â 87,000,000 | Â $Â Â 78,045,960 |
A big difference in the two budgets is Mayor Ashton Hayward and the Pensacola City Council began borrowing against the Series IV fund four years ago. According to the FY 2018, Hayward will have committed to spend $27.3 million on projects and the interest on the loans over the first eight months of the new fund. If the Pensacola City Council approves the budget increase for the Bayview Park Community Center ($1.34 million) in June, the mayor will spend $28.6 million of LOST funds before the new mayor takes office—which is about a third of the Series IV LOST fund.
| Committed thru FY 2018 | |
| 2015 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2,314,588 |
| 2016 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 416,250 |
| 2017 | Â $Â Â Â Â 14,070,858 |
| 2018 | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9,651,500 |
| Plus Interest | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 855,980 |
| Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 27,309,176 | |
| Bayview Increase | Â $Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1,335,086 |
| Â $Â Â Â Â 28,644,262 | |
| Percentage committed | |
| through first year of fund | 32.92% |
Under the city manager-council government, the city didn’t borrow against future LOST funds. In the first eight months of the Pennies for Progress budget, the city council approved $8.45 million in expenditure, 10.8% of the total.
And it could get worse for whomever is the next mayor of Pensacola, the projected Series IV LOST budget for FY 2019 is $11.62 million – which means over 46 percent of the Series IV could be spent before the new mayor completes his first year in office.