ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County’s public transportation survey closes Friday meaning it’s the last chance for residents to tell the county what they would like to see happen if Orange County Mayor Jerry Deming’s one-cent sales tax passes in November.
According to the mayor, more than 10,000 surveys have been collected gathering all kinds of information on how residents want to improve transportation in Central Florida. The survey closes at midnight.
At his State of the County address last year, Demings announced his proposal for a one-cent tax bringing the county’s tax from 6.5% to 7.5%, tied for the highest in Central Florida with Osceola County.
Demings said this is the only solution that will help with the county’s transportation troubles.
"We have to have something that is bigger and better, this is a multi-billion dollar solution," Demings said.
Demings said once the surveys are collected, the county will then come up with a plan to present to voters.
“I will continue on my crusade, I’ve had in excess of 150 presentations but I will continue to educate and inform the public what this sales tax would mean,” Demings said at a luncheon about the future of transportation hosted by the Orlando Business Journal. “We will also begin to perfect the plan that the citizens want to see with the appropriate accountability transparency and oversight that our residents want to see.”
Orange County’s adopted budget for transportation this fiscal year is $330 million, of that $56 million goes to LYNX for public transportation. According to county officials, if passed, the One-Cent Transportation Sales tax is estimated to bring in $596 million a year.
That money would be used to address transportation needs as a whole, according to the county, with mass transportation being a priority.
However, a similar plan called Mobility 20/20 failed with voters in 2003.
"Mobily 20/20 was really not just for tourists, but that is how it was perceived so what we are trying to do is make sure we change that narrative," Demings said. "I want every resident who we are asking to vote for this November to see themselves in the narrative of this story, this has to have an appeal to everyone based on where they see the shortfall today ."
As of Friday afternoon, 10,774 surveys have been collected. If you want to weigh in, you have until midnight.
For more News 6 Boomtown coverage visit ClickOrlando.com/boomtown.