Brevard commission to consider asking voters to renew Indian River Lagoon sales tax

Are you willing to keep paying a half-cent sales tax for another decade to continue cleaning up the Indian River Lagoon?

On Tuesday, Brevard County Commission will consider draft referendum language to put that question on the Nov. 5 ballot. A "Yes" vote would renew the tax for another decade. The proposed ballot language is slightly different than on the 2016 tax that voters approved and is now being dubbed the "Save Our Indian River Lagoon Infrastructure Sales Surtax."

That tax doesn't expire until 2026, but advocates are pushing for the ten year extension now to ensure there is no interruption of funding for ongoing cleanup efforts.

The half-cent sales tax funds the " Save Our Lagoon Project Plan ," created by Brevard County's Natural Resources Management Department and consultants. It raises more than $54 million per year for lagoon cleanups that include organic muck removal from the lagoon bottom; upgrades to stormwater, sewer plant and septic systems; improved fertilizer management; oyster reef restoration; public education and more.

Want a cleaner lagoon? Why not open Canaveral Lock?

But resource managers say it will take another $5 billion and 20 years to save the stressed ecosystem, plagued by chronic toxic algae blooms, fish kills, manatee deaths and other environmental ills.

Advocates say the time and expense of the sales tax cleanup projects are worth it: The lagoon brings $7.6 billion annually in economic benefits to the six counties that border the waterway. It's one of several reasons why the supporters say they want the tax back on the ballot before it expires in 2026.

Some critics of the program, however, have argued for years that it spends too much on dredging and subsidizes other local government programs that are already supposed to pay for infrastructure improvements related to stormwater, sewage and muck-laden canals.

Muck is the buildup of soils, rotted vegetation and clay that runs off yards and roads. It clouds sunlight from reaching seagrass and harbors excess nitrogen and phosphorus that trigger toxic algae blooms that kill fish and other wildlife.

Over five decades, an estimated 5 million to 7 million cubic yards of muck built up in the Brevard and Indian River County portion of the lagoon. That’s enough to cover a football field 1,000 yards high, according to researchers at Florida Institute of Technology. Muck is 10-feet thick or thicker in some spots of the lagoon and its tributaries, such as Eau Gallie River.

The lagoon stretches from Volusia County to the north to Palm Beach County to the south, and includes the Indian River, the Banana River Lagoon and the Mosquito Lagoon. It is considered to have one of the greatest diversities of plants and animals among the nation's estuaries. About 71% of the lagoon's area and nearly half of its length is within Brevard County, and that's where the revenue from Brevard's lagoon sales tax can be spent.

Proposed draft language for 2024 Indian River Lagoon local half-cent sales tax

To restore the Indian River Lagoon through infrastructure, capital improvements, and capital maintenance projects and programs designed to reduce pollution, remove muck, and improve water quality and marine habitat for fish and wildlife, shall Brevard County extend the ½ cent Save Our Indian River Lagoon sales tax for ten years beginning January 1, 2027 and require deposit of all revenue in a trust fund for such purposes, with citizen committee oversight and annual independent audits?

Referendum language for 2016 Indian River Lagoon local half-cent sales tax

To restore the Indian River Lagoon through financing, planning, constructing, maintaining, and operating capital improvements and capital maintenance projects and programs designed to improve water quality, fish, wildlife and marine habitat, remove muck and reduce pollution, shall an ordinance be approved levying a ½ cent sales tax for ten years and requiring deposit of all revenue to a Save Our Lagoon Trust Fund solely for such projects, with citizen committee oversight and annual independent audits?

Contact Waymer at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard commission to consider asking voters to renew Indian River Lagoon sales tax