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Why developers favor Manatee County, school district sales tax referendums

The Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port area has one of the largest shortages of new single-family homes of any market in the state, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors.
The Bradenton-Sarasota-North Port area has one of the largest shortages of new single-family homes of any market in the state, according to a new study by the National Association of Realtors. Tiffany Tompkins ttompkins@bradenton.com

Why are the developers so interested in promoting approval of the two sales tax referendums on the November ballot? Why are they so interested that they have contributed $300,000 to get you to vote for those two half-cent taxes that will bring in one billion dollars over the next 15 years. The answer is simple. They want that revenue to be used to offset non-collection of impact fees just like the school district did sine 2008.

If we vote against the two taxes now, we can reconsider them again next year before the existing school sales tax expires and after we have modified the terms to make sure that the developers pay 100 percent of the recommended impact fee and make sure all of the sales tax goes to the schools and the county and not to the developers. Vote “against” both taxes.

Ed Goff

Bradenton

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Why developers favor Manatee County, school district sales tax referendums."

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