A debate over whether to place the renewal of St. Lucie County's half-cent infrastructure sales tax on the November ballot has come to a close, with county commissioners deciding to move forward with the referendum.
The issue returned to the County Commission after an earlier meeting ended with the board split evenly over the proposal. Commissioners had previously approved an ordinance to place the measure on the 2026 ballot, two years before the current tax expires in 2028, to avoid a gap between the tax's expiration and any renewal.
Some commissioners questioned whether the timing could hurt the measure's chances if it appears on the same ballot as other tax-related initiatives, including proposed property tax reforms.
Commissioner James Clasby said he believes voters may be less receptive to the measure because of the broader tax discussions expected on the ballot.
"I'm not interested in running it twice if it fails once. So that'll be another discussion we have in 2028 if it does fail," Clasby said. "It's one of those things where it makes no sense at all that we'd have so many tax items on one ballot. It's going to confuse the voters, it's going to maybe even make people not like it. The discussions I've had since our previous meeting, everybody basically has said, 'I don't care what it's going to fund, I'm going to vote against it.'"
Other commissioners argued that placing the measure on the ballot now would preserve another opportunity for voters to consider it before the current tax expires.
"I think that two chances are better than one. I've not changed my opinion, I feel that if we put it out for 2026 and it doesn't pass, we have another opportunity," Commissioner Kathy Townsend said. "Changing the language is not that big of a deal, that's how we got it through the first time. We put it out there, we saw some wording mistakes, we came back, restructured everything, and it passed the second time because more education was given."
Commissioner Larry Leet, who was absent during the previous meeting that resulted in the split vote, said he shares some of Clasby's concerns but believes the county would benefit from having additional time to educate voters if the measure is unsuccessful this year.
"I do agree with Commissioner Clasby, I think that it's not going to pass on this particular ballot," Leet said. "That being said, there's two years in the meantime, and we have two years to educate the public, to realize what this potential loss is if this doesn't pass. So, I am on the side of running it twice."
County Attorney Katherine Barbieri said a failed referendum this year would not prevent the county from placing a similar measure before voters again in 2028, although it would have to be presented as a new tax.
"It would have to be a new tax, so we would have to look at it and word it so that it's a new tax. But I assume there would be more than just the word renew in there, but it definitely can go back on the ballot in 2028," Barbieri said.
Revenue generated by the half-cent sales tax funds infrastructure projects throughout St. Lucie County and its municipalities. Voters originally approved the tax in 2018 with a 10-year term.