Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 4-29-16 Bookstore Edition

Features
Go Hillsborough! Plan Has Nothing For East Tampa
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
With all the discussions going on about the proposed half-cent sales tax to fund a transportation proposal, the Go Hillsborough! Plan does not indicate any dollars or projects for East Tampa.
County Commission Chair Les Miller, said the proposed projects that have been documented are for the first 10 years.
“I don’t know what city officials have proposed for their projects. We have our funds for the county and other areas, and part of Suit- case City is in the county.
“I do know that the county will get the lion’s share of the funds, with HART getting 25%. HART’s project list addresses im- proving bus services, and mentions new bus service, new buses, and increased bus
COUNTY COMMISSION CHAIR LES MILLER
arrival and departure times.”
Councilman Frank Reddick said he hasn’t heard anything definitive for East Tampa in the plan.
“If the half-cent request passes the city would get $250 million, and the Mayor is talking about light rail.
“The light rail proposal would have a negative impact on West Tampa, because more right-of-way purchases
COUNCILMAN FRANK REDDICK
would have to be made, and that area has already been devastated with the inter- state expansion.”
Councilman Reddick
said he hasn’t seen anything that will directly affect East Tampa on the Go Hillsbor- ough! proposal.
“As of right now, there is nothing in it for East Tampa. All I keep hearing is how areas of the county and the downtown area will benefit from the plan.
“It’s critical the people play close attention to the discussions, and give their input as to what they want to see happen to them from this plan. Attending the public hearings is a must.
“The expanding of the bus routes is critical, and I haven’t gotten a clear picture at this point on how that will be done.”
Commissioners Say ‘No’ To Half-Cent Sales Tax For Transportation
After a 3-hour public hearing Wednesday evening on the half- cent sales tax referendum for transportation, Hillsborough County Commissioners reviewed comments made by more than 200 citizens.
After taking a vote, Commis- sioners decided to vote against putting the half-cent sales tax referendum on the November ballot.
The vote was 4-3, with Repub- lican Commissioners Sandy Murman, Victor Crist, Stacy White, and Al Higginbotham voting against a 30-year and 20- year tax referendum proposals. Democrats, Commission Chair Les Miller and Kevin Beckner, were joined by Repub- lican Ken Hagan in voting for the referendum.
Commissioner Murman
suggested that her colleagues re- turn to the drawing board and continue to work on the referen- dum.
In 2015, the new transporta- tion initiative was given the name “Go Hillsborough” and from there a public outreach campaign began. County officials held 86 public workshops that were attended by 2,853 people.
Hillsborough County has an $8 billion backlog of needed projects, new and widened roads, resurfacing of existing roads, bridge repairs and sidewalks.
No one was more disap- pointed with the outcome than Commission Chair Miller.
“I’m very disappointed. This is a way of suppressing the vote,
and I believe my colleagues bowed down to pressure, and de- nied the people their right to vote.
“Some of my colleagues flip flopped, and allowed a political agenda to govern their decision process. This is a blow to the county and the residents of Tampa.”
Comm. Chair Miller said contrary to what was said during the public hearing, this was never a tax hike.
“By calling it a tax hike, I think created a negative atmosphere, and I believe that was inten- tional.
“What we agreed on was to have more workshops, but I be- lieve this is just a tactic to find other revenue sources. I believe funds already allocated for some projects should stay that way. I think they just didn’t want the people to decide what they wanted.”
Comm. Chair Miller said it would have been fine if the peo- ple decided in November, by vot- ing, that this is not what they want.
“This is a slap in the face for the people of Hillsborough County and denying them their right to decide for themselves what they wanted to do.
“This will have a long term af- fect on a lot of projects planned for the future, and will impact fu- ture job creation and getting new businesses to set up shop in Hillsborough County. This is a major setback.”
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016