Okaloosa County BOCC — February 11, 2013 — Revenue Options — reading text

Second Local Option Fuel Tax The final 5 cent local option fuel tax, known as the Second Local Option Fuel Tax, is a 1 to 5 cents levy upon every net gallon of motor fuel sold within a county. Diesel fuel is not subject to this tax. This additional tax shall be levied by an ordinance adopted by a majority plus one vote of the membership of the governing body or voter approval in a countywide referendum. There are 24 of 67 counties that levy some or all 5 cents of this tax. Proceeds received from this additional tax may be used for transportation expenditures needed to meet the requirements of the capital improvements element of an adopted local government comprehensive plan. Okaloosa County does not levy any portion of this tax on fuel purchases in the County. This tax would generate approximately $911,709 per cent levied countywide and is required to be distributed with the municipal governments. Distribution shall be by the Department of Revenue (DOR) according to the distribution factors determined at the local level by interlocal agreement between the county and municipalities within the county’s boundaries. If no interlocal agreement is established, then the distribution shall be based on the transportation expenditures of each local government for the immediately preceding 5 fiscal years as a proportion of the total of such expenditures for the county and all municipalities within the county. These proportions shall be recalculated every 10 years based on the transportation expenditures of the immediately preceding 5 years. Under the current 60/40 split distribution formula, where the County receives 60% and the municipalities receive 40%, each penny of the fuel tax would generate approximately $547,025 in revenue. Franchise Fees Last year the Board of County Commissioners explored utility franchise fees on electric and gas companies for the use of public rights-of-way. Using the maximum assessment (6%) on electric and gas utilities, the imposition of franchise fees in the unincorporated area, similar to those imposed in the incorporated areas already, would potentially generate $7,500,000 of additional revenue. The enactment of any franchise would require the agreement of the electric or gas Franchise Fee History $14,109,224 $13,811,221 $13,808,684 $13,245,583 $13,113,566 $16,000,000 $14,000,000 $12,000,000 $6,074,075 $5,976,614 $10,000,000 $5,807,671 $5,224,408 $5,110,630 $8,000,000 $2,156,889 $2,137,596 $2,111,395 $6,000,000 $1,933,323 $1,899,267 $1,804,613 $1,769,061 $1,708,383 $1,693,424 $1,544,898 $1,511,164 $1,472,447 $1,447,881 $1,188,580 $1,186,573 $1,160,912 $1,154,581 $1,139,666 $1,105,653 $983,885 $4,000,000 $2,000,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Crestview Destin FWB Niceville Escambia Okaloosa Santa Rosa 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 utilities and last year’s discussion was met with mixed support and opposition from the utilities.