If LOST Fails and Amendment 3 Passes, Escambia County and Pensacola Face a $1 Billion Hole
Tuesday's two tax questions point in opposite directions: rejecting the penny sales tax while approving the state property-tax amendment would strip at least $1 billion in local revenue the county and city say pays for roads, public safety and stormwater.
Escambia County and the city of Pensacola could be facing a major financial squeeze after Election Day if voters reject the Local Option Sales Tax referendum and approve statewide Amendment 3, according to reporting by the Pensacola News Journal. The two questions sit on the same November 3 ballot and pull in opposite directions — one renewing a local revenue source, the other cutting a property-tax base.
LOST is a one-cent sales tax that has been in place since 1992 and has been renewed by voters each of the three times it has come up, most recently in 2016. The county and the city split the revenue based on population, and the money is tied to the visible basics of local government — the Journal reported the mayor's point that the police cars, fire trucks, sidewalk repairs and playground replacements residents see were likely paid for with LOST money. Escambia County projected it would receive $63 million from the tax in 2026, while Pensacola projected about $9.8 million.
The renewal on Tuesday's ballot would extend the tax until 2038 and generate at least $1 billion over that decade, against what county leaders describe as $1.6 billion in infrastructure needs over the next 15 years, including road resurfacing, bridge replacement and stormwater work. A University of West Florida Haas Center economic impact study credits LOST with supporting about 4,200 jobs and a $2.1 billion economic impact since 2009. The Pensacola business community's Penny for Progress committee has spent more than $158,000 since April advocating for passage.
