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OPINION

The conservative case for the lagoon tax

Estuary is an asset whose condition raises or lowers values of homes and businesses

John Byron
community columnist

Brevard voters will soon decide on an additional ten-year half-cent sales tax creating a $300 million fund to repair the Indian River Lagoon.

Conservative voters should join environmentalists and vote yes.

Huh? Aren’t conservatives automatically against taxes?

It’s not that simple. Conservatives conserve. Conservatives strive to preserve and protect, hanging on to what they see as good in life. And the best thing we have is the river. It’s the heart of our community, the center of gravity of life in Brevard.

But we have a problem. It’s like eating steamed crabs on the back porch and then throwing the shells on the lawn. Next day, it really stinks, and the backyard is a lot less pleasant than it was. That’s where we’ve gotten ourselves with the river. We’ve been throwing sewage and stormwater into it and making muck and generally abusing its ecology for so long that it’s starting to stink and turn green. Fish die-offs are becoming too common. It’s less pleasant than it was.

We risk a dire future if we all don’t act to conserve (there’s that word again) the Indian River Lagoon, our most valuable natural resource.

Valuable? Yes, in direct dollar terms.

Save the lagoon, city by city

Conservatives like money. They should see the Indian River Lagoon as one of Brevard’s main economic engines. Property values, commercial activity, job count, and our $3-billion-dollar-plus tourist industry all gain enormous benefit from a healthy river.

Conversely, if the lagoon keeps getting worse, we lose an asset of uncountable value. Home prices would plummet. Jobs, businesses, and tourists would go away. Fighting the tax for the small change we’d save would end up costing us huge bucks. This modest investment made now promises far greater effect than the incredible dollar amounts it will take to fix things later if we do nothing and the river collapses completely.

Unanimous that they needed to take action, in August all five County Commissioners voted to put a Lagoon Tax initiative on the general-election ballot. In reaching their decision, Commissioners listened to the community. There was the usual gaggle of know-it-alls always opposed to everything. But voices favoring positive action drowned them out. Commissioners looked hard at five alternatives.

The best choice, among them: a small bump in sales-tax.

Conservatives usually opposed to taxes should see the merit of protecting what they hold dear with this modest tax increase that everyone pays for, tourists included. It costs far less than the property value and economic activity they’ll lose if the Lagoon goes really bad.

Matt Reed: Don't burn our trust on Indian River

The new tax underwrites a managed trust fund tied to the comprehensive Save Our Lagoon Project Plan recently approved by the Commission. This ensures that the portfolio of projects undertaken are best science of highest benefit. Most of the funding goes where it’s needed most, muck removal. All projects will be coordinated with the state and federal agencies also working to save the Lagoon.

Overseeing execution of the entire program will be the Indian River Lagoon Oversight Committee established just for this purpose. Space Coast League of Cities and the County Commission appoint its seven members and their alternates from a range of science, technology, and economic disciplines, local experts representing community interests and advocating for the wisest use of the funds.

The proposed Lagoon Tax is a highly leveraged outlay protecting our wonderful quality of life. And it doesn’t just save money. Projections say it will add $2 billion of new economic activity for Brevard in tourism, real estate, recreation, and commercial fishing. That’s a 667 percent return on investment. Wow.

Conservatives — and those of us who aren’t — should recognize the big stake we all have in passing this intelligent proposal to protect our River. Vote YES! on the Indian River Lagoon Tax Referendum.

John Byron lives in Cocoa Beach. He holds a degree in physical oceanography and chairs the Cocoa Beach Planning Board