Tavares, FL Monday, Nov. 2, 2015
Tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 3 is the final day you can save yourself about $130 PER Family member, PER year for fifteen years by voting AGAINST the renewal of the Lake County Sales Surtax.
If you fail to vote against it, the people who want the resulting $800-million slush fund will vote it in and you are stuck paying the tax for fifteen years. The same people who pushed through last year’s 14% property tax increase want this slush fund to be passed with very few restrictions. You can see MY list of 10+ reasons to vote AGAINST the sales tax HERE.
1. FL State Rep. Marlene O’Toole (Villages area) says vote AGAINST the tax: The blog Right Side of the Lake, like FiscalRangers.com, is in the fight against the Lake County $800-million sales tax and sent out the below email today, with details on The Villages area FL Rep. Marlene O’Toole saying she is AGAINST the Penny Tax. Read it to learn why Marlene is AGAINST the penny sales tax.
2. Another group run by Tom Rask called the “Lake County Citizens for Sound Government” has sent out several controversial emails encouraging voters to vote AGAINST the penny tax. Even though he won’t disclose who is funding or behind the effort, he generally has our support since he is AGAINST the penny tax. I can only guess at the taxpayers who are angry over Jimmy Conner’s 14% tax increase who may be involved in funding Rask's campaign. However, in this letter, he has unfairly charged Commissioner Leslie Campione with lying about approval of the ballot language in an earlier email. Leslie mentioned the wrong group in one quote, and subsequently corrected her statement, but the guy wouldn’t give up. Leslie may be FOR the penny tax, but she does more homework on her viewpoints than many people do, and has high ethics and would not intentionally lie in my opinion. But, I wish she would join taxpayer advocates and vote AGAINST the penny tax until better spending rules are written like we want!
3. Conclusion: The tax isn’t a big deal for people working at jobs paying over $40,000, but for those under that, or retired with no social security increases AGAIN, or unemployed, the sales tax is a deal killer. This 30 year old “discretionary” tax is especially questionable when you know one third is going to Lake County spendthrift Commissioners Jimmy Conner, Welton Cadwell and Sean Parks. They are the guys that raised property taxes by 14% last year, and now they want more funds with very few restrictions. The other big potential waste issue is government recipients who won’t live within their annual income and use the promise of 15 years of cash revenues to justify selling bonds for possibly overly expensive projects or boondoggles. They need to be restricted from using the tax to run up debt by selling bonds. Once the bonds are sold, elected officials can’t do anything about it for 15 years.
Save yourself about $130 PER YEAR for each member of your family for the next FIFTEEN years by VOTING AGAINST the penny tax tomorrow. Then let the government come back with improved rules for the tax and try again next year. The schools would have the ability to request a HALF penny tax, not just 1/3 of a penny, just for them, which is an option that would have my support.
Please forward or share this email with anyone you think should know the reasons to vote AGAINST this $800-million tax. Once it is passed, you are stuck with the penny sales tax for FIFTEEN more years.
Vance Jochim
Scroll below to see the blog post and Marlene O'Toole's letter the Villages Sun newspaper.
From: Citizens For Better Government On Behalf Of Citizens For Better Government
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2015 9:25 AM
To:
Subject: Representative Marlene O'Toole Comes Out Against Penny Sales Tax
Representative Marlene O'Toole Comes Out Against Penny Sales Tax
Leading Voice for Seniors Says, "We are Overtaxed"
In Sunday’s edition of The Villages Daily Sun, District 33 Florida Representative Marlene O’Toole penned a letter in opposition to the renewal of the Penny Sales Tax, which will be decided on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. Rep. Marlene O’Toole represents a large eastern area of Lake County around The Villages, and she is one of the leading voices for seniors in the area and throughout the state.
Rep. O’Toole said she did not believe the threats of raising property taxes if the Penny Sales Tax fails, and she lamented We the People are overtaxed. She also questioned how Lake County planned to spend the money.
Below is the Letter Rep. Marlene O’Toole released to The Villages Daily Sun.
O’Toole Offers Thoughts on Penny Sales Tax
Many have asked my opinion of the penny sales tax renewal in Lake County, which will be on the ballot Tuesday. Voters will be asked whether to renew the discretionary one-cent sales tax for another 15 years, with estimated revenues of $800 million over that time.
The funds are split three ways, with the county government, municipalities and the school board each getting a share. Officials tell us they intend to spend the money on new school construction, roads and other infrastructure. They also tell us that if we do not renew the tax, they will likely have to hike our property taxes to cover the difference.
I don’t believe them.
Last year, the Lake County Commission raised property taxes by almost 14 percent, even with the assistance of the penny sales tax. They had even authorized an increase of 18 percent before the public outcry made them rethink the amount.
Was this “urgently needed” increase needed to fix crumbling infrastructure and keep air conditioners on at schools? Hardly. Much of it went to employee raises, construction of new parks and other “nice to have” projects — not exactly urgent reasons to punish the taxpayers as they struggle to recover from a prolonged recession.
So why will I be voting against another 15 years of additional taxation? Because we are overtaxed — at the federal, state and local level — and I believe that the estimated $153 this tax costs the average family every year can be more efficiently utilized by the hardworking citizens who actually earn those dollars.
That could be a month’s utility bill, or even pay for groceries for a family struggling to get by. And I don’t have to tell you how much that money could mean in the pocket of our fixed-income seniors in Lake County.
Rep. Marlene O’Toole
The Villages
Seniors, will you join Rep. Marlene O’Toole in Voting Against the Infrastructure Sales Surtax Referendum (Penny Sales Tax)?
On November 3, 2015, Vote Against the Infrastructure Sales Surtax Referendum, because referendum is badly written, and you don’t want to give the politicians a blank check. Let’s make them do it right—the ordinance should only be used for new schools, roads, and utilities while protecting Lake County taxpayers and workers.
Please get the facts out to your family, friends, and neighbors by sharing this email with everyone in your address book.
We would like to hear from you on today’s newsletter. Go to www.lakecountygov.info and let us know what you think.
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