Election Day in Escambia County: Voters Decide a Penny Tax Worth $1 Billion

Escambia County and the city of Pensacola could face a major financial squeeze after Election Day if voters reject the Local Option Sales Tax referendum on the November 3 ballot, the Pensacola News Journal reported Friday. The one-cent sales tax, known as LOST, has been in place since 1992, and voters have approved renewing it each of the three times it has come up, most recently in 2016.

The referendum would extend the tax until 2038 and generate at least $1 billion in revenue over that decade, according to the News Journal's reporting. Escambia County projected it would receive $63 million from the tax in 2026, while Pensacola projected about $9.8 million in the same year, and the county and the city split the revenues based on population. A University of West Florida Haas Center economic impact study cited in the reporting put the tax's economic impact at $2.1 billion since 2009, including $1.4 billion spent on LOST projects, and credited it with supporting about 4,200 jobs in the local economy.

The stakes run alongside a second tax question on the same ballot: all of Florida votes Tuesday on Amendment 3, a statewide property tax measure. Supporters of the renewal, organized as the Penny for Progress committee, have spent more than $158,000 since April advocating for the tax, the News Journal reported, and business leaders backing the campaign say the county faces $1.6 billion in infrastructure needs over the next 15 years, from resurfacing roads to replacing bridges and addressing stormwater. Polls are open Tuesday, November 3; the county commission voted unanimously in July to place the renewal before voters.