Both All for Transportation (AFT) transit tax referendums, in 2018 and in 2022, were ruled illegal by the Courts. As a result, taxpayers got stuck paying for costly outside legal counsel.
In 2018 warnings were raised by then county commissioner Stacy White and others that AFT's citizen wealthy special interests led transit tax had potential legal issues.
Those warnings went unheeded by Hillsborough County Attorney Christine Beck and HART's legal counsel Davis Smith.
Orange County appears to have put a much cleaner, more clear and more accurate, according to what Florida State law (FS 212.055) allows, in their transportation sales surtax ballot language. It simply asks voters to vote for or against a 1%, 20 year sales surtax dedicated to transportation and transit improvement for uses authorized by law....as approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
The Tampa Centric 5 Hillsborough County Commissioners (Overman, Cohen, Smith, Myers, Kemp) are responsible for putting the deceptive $23 Billion All for Transportation (AFT) transit tax on the November ballot. They are responsible and the reason why a legal challenge was filed against the AFT tax hike.
 |
 |
| AFT Monopoly Men |
Monday the All for Transportation supporters struck out again. Circuit Court Judge Gaylord Moe ruled the All for Transportation (AFT) Sales Tax Hike ballot language is misleading and confusing to voters and struck the referendum from the November ballot.
Now AFT's wealthy special interests donors are calling in their Chits.
AFT's rich monopoly men, with money bags in tow, are wanting their donor favors returned and a "return on investment" of the donor dollars they have waged on Overman, Cohen, Smith, Myers and All for Transportation.
Yesterday Hillsborough County commissioner Gwen Myers told the Tampa Bay Times the County will appeal the judge's ruling.
We’re going to appeal this and ask voters to keep voting for this while it’s on the ballot now,” said Myers.
Myers, who has championed the tax referendum since her 2020 election to the commission, initially said she would consider scheduling a special election if an appeal is successful.
But Gwen Myers does not speak for all 7 commissioners. The county commissioners have not met yet to discuss the appeal issue and Florida Statute 212.055 requires all local sales surtax referenda must be held in a general election.
BOCC Chair Kimberly Overman released a statement yesterday calling for a special BOCC meeting for Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 5pm. Her statement yesterday, October 11, 2022, was incompetently dated August 4, 2022.
Citizens can sign up to make public comment virtually or at the meeting tomorrow or send a written comment here.
Overman's statement claims:
We cannot afford to wait another 2 years to find relief for those who need these transportation improvements the most.
We cannot continue with the status quo.
The status quo is the County being negligent, incompetent and not properly funding the County's transportation needs.
The damaging status quo is because Overman and the 4 other commissioners (Cohen, Smith, Myers and Kemp), who put the AFT sales tax hike on the ballot, eliminated the 2017 $840 Million 10 year transportation funding policy.
The damaging status quo is because these 5 commissioners eliminated a 10 year transportation plan funded by using the growth of existing revenues.
Public safety and infrastructure are the top priorities and responsibilities of all local government. Roads are the largest infrastructure asset the County owns.
Overman and the other 4 commissioners have failed to do their job. They have failed to properly fund a primary responsibility of county government.
These 5 commissioners prefer massive new tax hikes at a time of raging inflation instead of doing their job and making the hard budget decisions the rest of us must make everyday.
What is sobering is all the special interests including Jeff Vinik, Darryl Shaw, Ron Christaldi and Tampa General, who have dumped thousands of dollars into Overman, Smith, Cohen and Myers campaigns.
What is alarming is these wealthy special interests are financially supporting commissioners who have failed to do their job. The special interests would never run their own businesses or household budgets with such neglect and incompetence these 5 commissioners have for years imposed on the taxpayers of Hillsborough County.
The special interests refuse to hold the 5 commissioners accountable for their negligence. Instead they buy influence.
Money talks and now the special interests are calling in their chits.
They want the County to waste your tax dollars to appeal Monday's ruling.
Protect your wallet. Do not allow another illegal AFT sales tax create another AFT big huge refund issue.
Taxpayers must NOT be put at risk of having illegal sales tax dollars taken from them AGAIN.
Take NO risk with the AFT sales tax printed on your ballot.
The All for Transportation (AFT) Sales Tax Ballot Measure on the Hillsborough County November ballot violates Section 8.05 of the County's Charter.
Section 8.05 requires that all County referendums include a Financial Impact Statement (FIS) in the referendum's ballot summary language. The FIS is not included in the AFT sales tax ballot measure.
