SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve an Interlocal Agreement with Pinellas County to increase the Local Option Fuel Tax by $0.05 and adopt Resolution 21-24.
Body
SUMMARY:
Pinellas County is asking for approval of an Interlocal Agreement regarding an increase in Local Option Fuel Tax (LOFT) by $0.01-$0.05, with $0.05 bringing Pinellas County to the current state cap for LOFT. This agreement does not implement or support a tax increase, it simply details how the revenue will be distributed should the BOCC implement the LOFT increase. Should the interlocal be approved, the BOCC will then discuss if they will implement the additional LOFT and to what level.
The proposed distribution is the same formula as the existing $0.07 LOFT renewed in 2015: Pinellas County will receive 60%, with the incorporated municipalities splitting the remaining 40% based on population. St. Petersburg would get the largest share amongst the municipalities (15.33%), while Clearwater would get the second largest share (6.69%).
The county portion of the funding will fund the County’s Transportation Trust Fund, which is projected to be exhausted in Fiscal Year 2022, and expenditure of both city and county distributions are limited by statute to capital improvements to transportation facilities.