- February 5, 2025
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After months of rallying all 16 cities in Volusia County to approve a resolution to place a half-cent sales tax referendum for infrastructure in the November ballot, on Tuesday, May 1, the Volusia County Council put the brakes on the issue for the time being, citing it was not the right time due to a pending audit by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability imposed by legislature via its tax package, an already crowded ballot and the need to discuss raising impact fees instead of taxation.
“It gives me heartburn that we are doing this, but it’s where we are," Councilwoman-at Large Joyce Cusack said.
The consensus arose after a special meeting on Monday, April 30 with various city leaders and members of the business community, who suggested the council hold off on the referendum until at least next year.
Skip Lilly, chair of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce referenced this during the County Council meeting, saying that the chamber will continue to support the half-cent sales tax referendum.
“Whether the referendum occurs in 2018 or 2019, we stand by to support this as an important step towards funding important infrastructure needs for our community," Lilly said.
DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar reminded the council that the entire county spoke out in one unified voice in favor for
“We may never get where we are today or where we were yesterday as it relates to putting this on the ballot."
Joyce Cusack, County Councilwoman-At-Large
this referendum, and that the cities and their staff had created a lot of momentum for it. He said the council should treat the situation like a "rain out" and determine another target date for the referendum to go on the ballot.
However, the council decided to take no action on the resolution, including not identifying a set date for the half-cent sales tax referendum to come back to the council for final approval. Some of the council members were wary of doing this without having a thorough discussion about impact fees first, with the most vocal being Councilwomen Deb Denys and Billie Wheeler.
“So while the bucks stops here legally on the ballot issue, to lay it all here and — while, yes indeed we do need to take a look at it, I’m in complete agreement with that — but I won’t go forward with one without the other," Denys said.
Denys also suggested the council consider moving forward with the OPPAGA audit, even if the referendum won't be in the November ballot. County Manager Jim Dinneen said that could give them a head start to perform more vetting for the sales tax, and that he would ask and get back to the council on that.
Wheeler said impact fees were a "major" factor in determining whether the referendum would continue to go forward.
“It is the county’s job to address the impact fees that jeopardize the success of this issue, whether it be now or in the future," Wheeler said, reading her comments from yesterday's meeting. "We are doing a disservice to our constituents by not addressing the elephant in the room. I understand this is not a popular topic, and I understand all of the ramifications that may result from my decision to address this topic — however it is the right thing to do.”
County Council Chair Ed Kelley said the half-cent sales tax would've helped the county and municipalities move forward with fixing the infrastructure problems in the present. Impact fees, if people understand what they can and can't affect, Kelley said, could be a solution for the future.
“It’s not all the hard work that’s gone into this, it’s what the issue would’ve accomplished for our community, and that’s the people that are getting shortchanged on this,” Kelley said.
Cusack said the discussion the council was having was a "perfect example" of what happens when governing bodies "backpedal" on an issue they have been working on for a long time. She said didn't mind delaying the referendum, but that the council needs to consider the ramifications of delaying the vote. Things will change, she warned.
“We may never get where we are today or where we were yesterday as it relates to putting this on the ballot," Cusack said. "And we may never have this council to approve it or the 16 cities to agree upon it because there are too many irons in the fire, and when you begin to muddy the waters as to where you try to go, everybody has opinions as to what we should or should not do.”
Wheeler agreed with Cusack, but said she thinks it is wise of the council to re-evaluate.
“I have to believe that this issue is strong enough and the need is great enough that it’s going to be good next year also,” Wheeler said.
