Commission Hires Attorney For Lawsuit Filed By Commissioner

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL -- The Hillsborough County Commission has hired outside counsel to defend itself in a lawsuit filed by a county commissioner.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4, County Commissioner Stacy White filed a lawsuit in Hillsborough Circuit Court against the county, the cities of Tampa, Plant City and Temple Terrace, the county's transit authority and the county clerk, seeking to invalidate the transportation sales tax approved by voters Nov. 6 (see related story).

In response, County Attorney Christine Beck told commissioners at Wednesday's board meeting that the county was forced to hire outside counsel because it would be a conflict of interest for the county attorney's office to defend the commission.

She hired the firm of Bryant Miller Olive to represent the county.

The charter amendment permitting a 1-cent sales tax for countywide transportation improvements was approved by 57 percent of the county's voters during the midterm election. It will go into effect on Jan. 1.

The 30-year tax is expected to raise $15.8 billion for new and improved roads, sidewalks, transit alternatives, expanded bus services and other projects intended to relieve the county's congested roadways and improve safety.

White, however, believes the violates state statutes.

He's also concerned about a caveat in the amendment specifying that the tax be managed by an independent oversight commission.

That commission, he said, would be a 13-member "unelected, unbonded and unpaid committee of private citizens who are given substantial powers over this huge fund of surtax proceeds, he said in his suit. "The IOC is effectively given veto powers over decisions made by and projects approved by the BOCC."

He said he's concerned about special-interest groups dominating the committee.

"This referendum, which created a transportation surtax in our county charter, was drafted and financed by a small group of private citizens without any public vetting to place a 1-percent transportation surtax in our county charter, projected to raise about $10 billion in new taxes over the next 30 years,” White said.

At Wednesday's board meeting, the first since the midterm elections, White reiterated his reasons for filing the suit.

"I strongly feel this charter amendment violates state law," White told fellow commissioners.

His fellow commissioners didn't comment on the lawsuit at Wednesday's meeting. But White received plenty of criticism from residents during the public comment section of the commission meeting.

White, however, said he has no intention of withdrawing his suit, which he's paying for with his own money.

“I do not believe the voters of Hillsborough County would have knowingly supported this charter amendment had they known it violated the laws of the State of Florida," White said. "The bottom line is I am not doing this in spite of voters. I am doing this for them.”

All for Transportation, the group responsible for obtaining the 48,745 signatures needed to place the sales tax charter amendment on the ballot, urged the other members of the commission "to support the will of the people" and "oppose any effort to delay implementation of badly needed congestion relief and safety improvements."

“Today we are calling on the six other county commissioners to follow the clear direction given by voters and protect them,” said All for Transportation spokesman Brian Willis. “This referendum was thoroughly vetted before being brought before voters and we are confident it will stand up to court review."

Willis urged commissioners to take action by voting to support the charter referendum at Wednesday's county commission meeting.

"All Commissioner White’s threats will accomplish is costing taxpayers more legal fees and delaying implementation of needed transit expansion, safety improvements and congestion relief," said Willis. "Political stunts like a threat of a lawsuit just prove why voters demanded independent oversight in the first place and commissioners should take action to protect the voters.”

However, the other commissioners saw no need to reaffirm a charter referendum that had already been approved by voters.

Instead, they directed County Administrator Mike Merrill to come up with a list of projects to be funded with sales tax revenues.

Merrill said staff has already identified $36 million in projects to be approved by the commission prior to being presented to the oversight committee when it convenes.

However, these projects will cost only a fraction of the $302 million the tax is expected to generate for the county each year. Merrill told commissioners he will work with staff to put together a more comprehensive list of projects to present to commissioners in February.

"The oversight committee’s role is to take the plans we submit ... and make sure the projects proposed fit within the five categories specified within the charter amendment," he said. "That is the extent of their role."

See related story:

Commissioner Files Suit Over Voter-Approved Transportation Tax

Image via Hillsborough County

County Commissioner Stacy White

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