nshah@MiamiHerald.com
Broward voters say they are tired of being nickeled and dimed and can't spare pennies for a better transportation system or renovated court buildings.
Read their votes: no new taxes.
Broward County voters Tuesday rejected an increase in sales taxes to pay for better mass transit and paying more property taxes to refurbish the county courthouse.
Voters soundly defeated boosting the sales tax by a penny, from 6 percent to 7 percent of every dollar spent. The tax would have brought in about $260 million a year, an amount that would have increased each year along with consumers' spending and county growth.
With all that extra money, the county would have paid for expanded bus service, including express bus routes on key north-south and east-west corridors. It would also have paid to synchronize traffic countywide.
County Commissioner John Rodstrom said he wasn't surprised that voters defeated the measure. The entire commission wanted some kind of tax, but he was on the side that pushed for a half-penny. ''People were really counting every penny this year,'' Rodstrom said. The sales tax hike would have cost the average Broward buyer about $45 a year.
And, he said, the lack of a well-structured plan for the money and competition with the courthouse bond hurt the penny's chances.
Adrian Courteau, 59, said he opposed both proposals.
''I think we're being taxed to death, so I voted no,'' said Courteau, who works for Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue. He said local corruption scandals made him cynical about government accountability.
Although voters across the county opposed the transportation tax, the sentiment appeared to be much stronger among white voters. In majority-black precincts, the question remained relatively close, with only a slight majority voting against the proposed penny increase. But voters in majority-white precincts, a strong majority voted no.
Black Congressman Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, sent fliers featuring blacks promoting the tax. He said the local tax would trigger matching federal dollars, create jobs and ultimately, saved commuters gas and car expenses.
Historically, Broward voters have been unfriendly to sales tax increases.
The courthouse proposal would have allowed the county to issue $450 million in bonds to build a new courthouse tower across the street from the existing courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Estimates show the average homeowner would have paid an estimated $35 in extra property taxes to pay the bonds.
Voters countywide were also asked two questions so the county could glean their opinions. In the first, voters overwhelmingly said that they want to be able to transfer their tax savings when they move from a homesteaded property to a new home.
The second question, sponsored by the Broward Soil and Water Conservation District, asked voters if they want a watershed improvement district that would work to reduce flooding, soil erosion and groundwater pollution and would not have taxing authority. Voters said yes.
Miami Herald staff writers Erika Bolstad, Wanda J. DeMarzo, Breanne Gilpatrick, Jennifer Lebovich, Diana Moskovitz, Hannah Sampson, Roberto Santiago, Darran Simon and Nikki Waller contributed to this story.
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