Proposed sales surtax encounters harsh opposition

Residents of Alachua County voiced their concerns Tuesday during a special county commission meeting over a proposed plan to include a referendum in the 2012 ballot that would create a one-cent sales surtax to support road improvement.

Overall, there was little support from county residents for the referendum during the two-hour-long meeting.

The Penny for Pavement, as the proposed pavement management program is being called, is supposed to make fixing and resurfacing roads manageable in 20 years. The county commission heard a Public Works report on the need of taking action to combat the road problems in the county and listened to the opinions of community residents.

“This gives us a good chance to start some of the dialogue that we need to start having sooner than later,” said Commissioner Susan Baird.

According to a report by Alachua County Public Works, 85 percent of roads in the county need some kind of repair. Public Works’ 2010 pavement condition analysis showed that if the roads aren’t fixed, they will continue to rapidly get worse. Currently, 49 percent of roads need major repair and 8 percent of roads need structural repair.

“We feel like this is the effective way to fix a problem of this magnitude,” said David Cerlanek, county engineer.

The Public Works report said that the gas tax revenue is not sufficient to solve the county’s road problem. The proposed sales tax is supposed to generate enough revenues to fix the problem.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, several attacks were made on the commission and how it has handled the budget in the past.

“We’ve been spending on our wishes and ignoring our needs,” said one county resident. This ending statement to his comments was received with a soft ripple of applause from the public.

Several residents criticized the county acquiring land and narrowing of Main Street in Gainesville instead of spending the money on roads. Others suggested the county tighten its budget and look for funds for the road management program elsewhere.

If the commission decides to support the referendum, the decision of whether to implement the one-cent tax would go to the voters in the 2012 election.

Commission Chair Lee Pinkoson said, “I would stay tuned, and we’ll see where this conversation goes.”