PHOTO BY TYLER FREEMAN VIA UNSPLASH.COM
Brevard County voters approved a renewal of the half-cent sales tax that pays for Indian River Lagoon cleanup, passing with over 75% of the vote. The Save Our Indian River Lagoon tax was first approved by voters in 2016 and was set to lapse after 10 years. The renewal would run another 10 years at the same half-cent rate, which adds 50 cents to every $100 of taxable purchases in the county.
The tax has raised more than $580 million since it launched, or nearly $59 million a year on average, according to county estimates. Virginia Barker, the county’s natural resources management director, estimated the renewal would raise about $800 million more.
The county has completed more than 130 cleanup projects over the last decade, and about $500 million in projects are in design, permitting, or construction phases at the time of this post. Projects include dredging, stormwater filtration, shoreline restoration, septic upgrades, and oyster habitat work. A citizen oversight board reviews and selects the projects the tax funds.
The tax is charged where purchases are made, not where a buyer lives, so Orlando-area residents pay it when they shop, eat, or stay overnight in Brevard County. The county said in May that the tax costs the average person about $400 a year.
Brevard County voters also renewed two school taxes Tuesday. A half-cent school sales tax for facilities, security, and technology passed with over 69%, and a property tax millage for teacher pay and other purposes passed with over 71%.
Official results are posted by the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections at votebrevard.gov.
