Supporters of lagoon sales tax start campaign for passage

A river of supporters in blue "Love Our Lagoon" shirts filled the Brevard County Commission chambers earlier this month. They watched, then cheered, as commissioners unanimously agreed to move forward toward a voter referendum on a proposed sales tax to help clean up the Indian River Lagoon.

With the referendum on its way to the Nov. 8 ballot — after a final procedural vote expected Tuesday — it will be up to many of those supporters to lobby for passage of the referendum.

That's because county commissioners and county staff are prohibited from doing so themselves, although they can educate the public about the condition of the lagoon and the proposed solutions.

The proposal calls for a half-cent-on-the-dollar special sales tax for the next 10 years that would raise a total of $340 million.

If voters approve, the sales tax is designed to pay for the "Save Our Lagoon Project Plan" devised by Brevard County's Natural Resources Management Department and outside consultants. That $302.9 million, 10-year plan for restoring the lagoon within Brevard County includes such things as muck removal, stormwater projects, upgrades to wastewater treatment facilities, septic system removal and upgrades, fertilizer management, oyster reef projects and public education.

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The lagoon in recent years has experienced algae blooms, brown tide, fish kills, and an unusual number of unexplained deaths of dolphins, manatees and pelicans.

The plan estimates a $2.01 billion positive economic impact from restoration of the lagoon and $4.29 billion in damages if the lagoon is not brought back to health during the next decade. The areas studied for economic impact included tourism and recreation, property values and commercial fishing.

Among the speakers who addressed the commission in favor of the lagoon plan were representatives of environmental organizations, the Marine Resources Council, real estate industry, the commercial and recreational fishing sectors, ecotourism advocates, the League of Women Voters of the Space Coast, the Space Coast Progressive Alliance, the Brevard Zoo, the Space Coast League of Cities, officials from several Brevard cities and candidates for elected office.

Not all of them supported the sales tax option. Some favored a special property tax to pay for the work. And others wanted to seek more federal and state grants.

But commissioners went with the sales tax, and, now supporters of lagoon cleanup are devising a strategy to get approval in the Nov. 8 referendum.

'Facts, science, economic truth'

"What we're doing right now is reaching out to current and potential strategic partners," said Melissa Martin of Cocoa, president of the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition, which now has 14 organizations represented. "It's a full-court press to get the word out."

Martin said the coalition will use "facts, science and economic truth" to help persuade voters to support the sales tax.

County Commissioner Robin Fisher said he was encouraged by the wide-ranging support he heard from speakers at the Aug. 9 commission meeting.

"I saw a lot of new faces" at the meeting — people Fisher said he "hadn't seen in the almost eight years I've been here."

Brevard voters to decide on tax for lagoon cleanup

Now, the lagoon cleanup and the sales tax need to be explained to "the average Joe," Fisher said. "There will be some naysayers that say: 'Don't do it.' Somebody needs to get organized, and go fight for this thing. That's what it's going to take to get it passed."

"Right, now, support for lagoon cleanup runs the gamut," said County Commission Vice Chair Curt Smith, who also is vice chair of the Indian River Lagoon Council board of directors.

But the key now, he said, is to "try to take out the emotion, and focus on the facts."

County Manager Stockton Whitten told commissioners the county will prepare an informational release and an overview of the plan, which is allowed.

But the county cannot actively lobby for voter approval of the sales tax, County Attorney Scott Knox said.

"You can't advocate, and say: 'Go out and vote for this,' " Knox said. "You can't be an advocate for the tax or for the referendum."

School sales tax effort

A similar situation involving a sales tax referendum occurred in 2014, when Brevard voters were asked to approve a half-percent sales tax for infrastructure for Brevard Public Schools. Voters approved the sales tax by a 58 percent to 42 percent margin in 2014 — after defeating a similar referendum two years earlier by a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.

One difference in 2014 was that a political committee, called Brevard - Save Our Students, was formed to campaign for the tax, which will be collected over a six-year period.

Brevard - Save Our Students raised $95,183 for its campaign, which it used to pay for such things as media advertising, mailings and signs to promote a "yes" vote on the school sales tax.

Separately, the school district provided information and education about the need for the tax money and how it would be spent.

The school sales tax supporters had about nine months for their campaign. The lagoon sales tax supporters have less than three months.

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Martin concedes the time is short between now and the Nov. 8 election. But she believes there already is widespread support for the measure, and that the coalition and other supporters would build on that support.

"We want to reach out to all voters in Brevard County, and make sure they understand how the health of the lagoon will help them," Martin said.

She said coalition members will be meeting this coming week to formulate strategy for that effort.

Although there was support expressed from various sectors during the County Commission's six-hour discussion on the lagoon on Aug. 9, there may be lingering doubts about the lagoon cleanup and how the money would be spent.

"If there are objections," Smith said, "we need to know that."

Selling points

Smith and other county commissioners say the sales tax has some advantages over a property tax. For example, it can start to be collected as early as February 2017, compared with no sooner that the start of the 2017-18 budget year in October 2017 for a property tax.

The sales tax also spreads the cost beyond only Brevard property owners to include residents who are not property owners, businesses that make purchases in Brevard and visitors to the county.

Smith said the sales tax could allow the county to get $300 million or more in matching state and federal money.

The sales tax proposal includes creation of a Save Our Lagoon Oversight Committee of seven members and seven alternates from the community with expertise in one or more of these fields: science, technology, economics/finance, real estate, education/outreach, tourism and lagoon advocacy. Half the committee would be appointed by the County Commission and half by the Space Coast League of Cities.

Lagoon tax can start the real repair process

That committee is designed to provide outside oversight to review the timeliness and effectiveness of the lagoon projects, as well as project costs. It also can suggest potential alternative projects.

Lynnette Hendricks of Merritt Island, president of the 3,800-member Space Coast Association of Realtors, said cleaning up the lagoon is "definitely a top priority for the Realtors in the county."

Hendricks said her organization's members are seeing less interest from potential homebuyers for living on the lagoon because of the algae blooms and the fish kills.

"It's really frustrating as a Realtor, when we're trying to attract people to come to our area to live," Hendricks said. "We are in favor of getting this lagoon cleaned up and moving forward."

Satellite Beach Mayor Frank Catino, who is an Indian River Lagoon fishing guide, said he believes there is a relatively good chance the sales tax will pass, especially after Brevard residents saw the massive fish kill that began in March, in which millions of fish died in the waters from Titusville to Melbourne.

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"I hate to say this, but … the fish kill is the greatest thing that ever happened to this lagoon" by increasing public awareness of the lagoon's condition, Catino said during public comment before the County Commission.

"That shocked people," Catino said. "It got their attention that this lagoon was in terrible trouble. It's been dying for a long time. It wasn't one cut. So we're going to need funds for a long period of time to make this happen."

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByDaveBerman and on Facebook at facebook.com/dave.berman.54

Referendum ballot item

Here is the wording of the proposed referendum:

Save Our Indian River Lagoon Half-Cent Sales Tax Referendum
To restore the Indian River Lagoon through financing, planning, constructing, maintaining and operating capital improvements and capital maintenance projects and programs designed to improve water quality, fish, wildlife and marine habitat, remove muck and reduce pollution, shall an ordinance be approved levying a half-cent sales tax for 10 years, and requiring deposit of all revenue to a Save Our Lagoon Trust Fund solely for such projects, with citizen committee oversight and annual independent audits?