A 1% surtax to to improve the overall quality of existing infrastructure and fund new projects may be on the ballots the November. Last week, the Hillsborough County Commission voted in favor of a 1% transportation surtax ordinance. The ordinance will be drafted by the county attorney’s office. The transportation tax ordinance is intended to improve public transportation in the growing Tampa Bay Area.
Tampa Bay transportation tax ordinance
According to WUSF, on March 23, the Hillsborough County Commission voted 6-1 in favor of the new 1% surtax. Vik Bhide, director of the mobility department for the city of Tampa, says the region is sorely in need of better public transportation.
“Transportation is kind of the Achilles’ heel of this region,” Bhide said. “It’s what’s holding us back, because transportation improves quality of life, and transportation is critical to access to jobs.”
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He says the surtax is really needed because the county is unable to receive funding from the federal government through programs like “Build Back Better.” This is due to a lack of local revenue.
“Unfortunately, a majority of this funding is competitive and requires matching funds, and we don’t have those matching funds either. So that’s a big reason we need to have local funds,” Bhide said.
Where will the money go?
If the tax ordinance passes, 45% percent of the money collected will go to the HART Bus program. The rest of the money will be distributed to a variety of different projects. This will include improvements to current infrastructure, which Bhide says is “crumbling.”
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Bhide said other projects would target another “big need” — safety.
Earlier this month, the city became the latest metropolitan area to sign onto the “Vision Zero” strategy, which aims to eliminate severe injuries and deaths on the road, while increasing mobility for everyone.
