Hillsborough commissioners move forward with putting Community Investment Tax renewal on November ballot

TAMPA, Fla. - The Hillsborough County Commission voted Wednesday to move forward with a referendum that would ask voters in November to renew the Community Investment Tax, which has been on the books for decades.

The half-cent CIT, which was passed in 1996, is nearing its expiration date after funding projects across the county, including infrastructure, transportation, public safety, education and Raymond James Stadium.

Commissioners voted 5-2 with a referendum that would renew the CIT for 15 years, while continuing to fund similar types of projects.

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"It's really important to note this is not a new tax. It's a renewal of an existing tax," said Commissioner Michael Owen. "This is very critical to your roads, your infrastructure, your public safety, your facilities. So all of the things that people complain about mostly during the day, which is the potholes, sidewalks, roads, facilities, this has a very heavy impact – whether or not this passes or not, has a very heavy impact on when those get completed."

After Owen and other commissioners voiced concerns about including the Hillsborough County School district in a renewed CIT, commissioners ultimately made a bipartisan decision to contribute 5% of the CIT funds to the district, down from the current 25%.

The district is estimated to receive about $187 million during the next 15 years if voters pass the referendum, which is a little more than half of what Superintendent Van Ayres said was needed to fund projects during that time.

"So now it's just got to do the math again and start to figure out what we can do on our end to make up for that shortfall," Ayres said after the meeting.

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This came a day after the school board decided to ask voters to pass another referendum: A one millage property tax increase to raise teacher salaries. Ayres hopes voters see the need for both taxes.

"One is about operating costs with salaries, the other. It is with our capital needs and capital and the growth that we have in it that need to build new schools," he said.

The commission still needs to determine how the Community Investment Tax would be shared with Plant City, Temple Terrace and the Tampa Sports Authority. A public hearing on the CIT will take place April 17.

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