Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on Go Hillsborough:
Go Hillsborough referendum losing steam as commissioners waver
Tuesday, September 22, 2015 8:30pm
TAMPA — Hillsborough County’s transportation referendum is in dire straits.
The proposal to raise the sales tax to fund transit and road projects suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks that has cast doubt on whether county commissioners will even put it on the ballot next November.
“If a vote was taken today, the votes aren’t there for this thing to pass,” Commissioner Al Higginbotham said.
The latest blow came Monday when County Administrator Mike Merrill asked Sheriff David Gee to investigate a $1.35 million contract for Parsons Brinckerhoff to conduct public outreach for the county’s transportation initiative, Go Hillsborough.
A recent story by WTSP10 News questioned whether Parsons Brinckerhoff was awarded that deal because of its ties to Beth Leytham, a politically connected public relations consultant who the company hired as a subcontractor.
Merrill insisted there was no wrongdoing and enlisted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in hopes of restoring credibility to Go Hillsborough. An audit earlier this year said the contract was awarded legally to a preapproved firm.
Nevertheless, a pall has been cast over the initiative. Several commissioners — already on the fence about a sales tax increase — now doubt the plan can recover.
The Tampa Bay Times spoke with all seven Hillsborough County commissioners after Merrill announced the sheriff’s investigation. Three commissioners, Kevin Beckner, Les Miller and Ken Hagan, said if Gee’s investigation does not raise any red flags, they will still support putting a half-cent sales tax increase on the 2016 ballot.
Two commissioners, Higginbotham and Stacy White, said they likely won’t support a plan for a referendum regardless of the sheriff’s findings.
Commissioner Victor Crist said he remains a “tough sell.” He’s “not completely sold on it” and doesn’t “see an absolute need for having to put something on the ballot” next year.
The wildcard is Commissioner Sandy Murman. The board chairmwoman has frequently bemoaned the county’s transportation woes and vowed to seek a solution the majority of the board could get behind. For months, a half-cent sales tax hike seemed to be that path. It was a delicate compromise for the Republican-controlled board in a county whose voters resoundingly rejected a full-cent increase in 2010.
But now Murman is less sure. In an interview with the Times, she suggested there might be other ways to find money for transportation besides raising the sales tax.
“This may not be the right time for us to do it,” she said of the referendum. “We have to have the certainty that this has a good chance of passing.
“Right now, I don’t think we have that.”
Until the sheriff’s review is done, Merrill halted Parsons Brinckerhoff and any subcontractors, including Leytham, from working on Go Hillsborough’s outreach efforts. But the county will continue to hold public meetings through mid October, including one today in Bloomingdale.
So far the county has paid $978,154 to Parsons Brinckerhoff. The engineering firm is scheduled to prepare a report for the Hillsborough County Policy Leadership Group on Nov. 5, but it’s unclear if Merrill’s order will affect that time frame.
That report, based on public input, is supposed to identity which road and transit projects should be completed in the first decade of the proposed 30-year tax. If the leadership group, which includes city leaders, approved the plan, then county commissioners were expected to vote Dec. 2 on whether to put the tax on the ballot.
Beckner said his colleagues were caving to outside pressure from vocal antitax opponents. He said it was a “political knee-jerk reaction” to back away from Go Hillsborough when the county is just weeks away from unveiling its blueprint for tackling gridlock.
“How can you say you’re not going to support something when you don’t even know what the damn plan is?” Beckner said. “I don’t see how anybody could say we don’t support it unless you say you don’t believe in investing in transportation and don’t have the political stomach to put it to a vote.”
In addition to the sheriff’s review, Beckner said he still wants an independent auditor to look at the Parsons contract and Leytham’s involvement so the issue can be put to rest.
Go Hillsborough has faced other headwinds in recent weeks beyond that contract. For one, commissioners have sensed mounting opposition from antitax groups rallying against the referendum.
And attendance at a second round of public meetings that cost the county an additional $250,000 has been lackluster. Those meetings were supposed to help legitimize Go Hillsborough after the 2010 referendum was criticized for a lack of transparency. Some commissioners have questioned whether more meetings were even necessary.
On Tuesday, one person attended a morning meeting at the Egypt Lake Recreation Center.
But proponents of Go Hillsborough said the most damaging wound was self-inflicted. It came in early September when the county put a 1-cent sales tax back in play after spending months building support for a half-cent hike.
The decision to reintroduce a full-penny increase originated from meetings between Merrill, Leytham and the county staff. The intent was to show residents the stark differences between what a 1-cent hike could fund versus a half-cent.
But commissioners said that decision blindsided them and muddled the message.
“That was confusing to people,” Miller said, “and it gave those against any referendum, against any tax increase, more ammunition to come at us with.”
Contact Steve Contorno at scontorno@tampabay.com. Follow @scontorno.
Where Hillsborough’s seven commissioners stand on the
Go Hillsborough transportation referendum:
“This may not be the right time for us to do it. We have to have to the certainty that this has a good chance of passing. Right now, I don’t think we have that.” — Sandy Murman,District 1
“I’ve got mixed feelings. I’m not completely sold on it. . . . I don’t see an absolute need for having to put something on the ballot.” — Victor Crist, District 2
“I would probably still be a supporter of the half-cent sales tax plan. I don’t see how there’s another way to meet the needs of the county.” — Les Miller, District 3
“I’ve been voting no on that to date. Nothing has changed my mind at this point.” — Stacy White,District 4
“When government is considering spending billions of our tax dollars, transparency and voter approval is essential. That is why the outreach has been unprecedented and the board will place this issue on the 2016 ballot.” — Ken Hagan, District 5
“Yes I do (support it). We just need to reinstill the public trust and provide complete transparency in the process.” — Kevin Beckner,
District 6
“I don’t support it . . . I still feel we have the ability within our means to fund this.” — Al Higginbotham, District 7
