CLEARWATER - The proposed ten year extension to the Penny for Pinellas sales tax will be the subject of a City of Clearwater Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, June 28th. Penny 3, as it is known, would run from 2010 to 2020 and provide an estimated $138,855,000 to the City to fund future infrastructure projects.
The Town Hall Meeting was requested by the Clearwater City Council to solicit public opinion on the city projects that have been proposed for funding from the additional one percent sales tax. Voters throughout Pinellas County will be given an opportunity to approve or reject the sales tax extension in a March 2007 referendum.
According to Mayor Frank Hibbard, Clearwater's Penny 3 meeting will consist of about 45 minutes of informal discussion followed by about 1 hour 15 minutes of formal public comment.
Hibbard said that stations would be set up at the Main Library with illustrations of projects that were funded by Penny 1 and 2, and of projects that have been proposed for Penny 3. City employees will be present to discuss the various projects and answer questions.
Big-ticket items on the City's tentative Penny 3 project list include:
Although not among the initial list of projects proposed by city staff, funding for Traffic Calming projects and a Senior Center was requested by the City Council during their May 30th work session.
With public input fresh in their minds, the City Council will decide on Clearwater's Penny 3 project list during their July 20th meeting.
Pinellas County Property Appraiser Jim Smith recently encouraged members of the Island Estates Civic Association to participate in government decision-making; "People who don't get in involved in their government deserve the government they get," he said. Clearwater's Penny 3 Town Hall Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 28th, at 6:30PM in the Main Library at 100 North Osceola Avenue.