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![handle is hein.sag/sagfl0035 and id is 1 raw text is: Pagel of4
Florida Attorney General
Advisory Legal Opinion
Number: AGO 2009-01
Date: January 7, 2009
Subject: Referendum, surtax pledged to secure loan
The Honorable Greg Godwin
Clerk of Circuit Court of Hamilton County
207 Northeast First Street, Room 106
Jasper, Florida 32052
RE: COUNTIES - TAXATION - whether surtax may be used to secure a
loan for infrastructure without referendum approval. s. 212.055,
Fla. Stat.
Dear Mr. Godwin:
As ex officio clerk to the Board of County Commissioners,[11 you ask
substantially the following question:
May the small county surtax authorized by section 212.055(3),
Florida Statutes, and enacted by a unanimous vote of the county
commission be pledged to secure a loan for a water and wastewater
treatment facility?
You state that on April 10, 1990, a referendum approved Ordinance 76
-90, imposing a one-cent additional sales tax for a period of
fifteen years. The general description of the projects to be funded
by the proceeds included: road and bridge construction; and
construction at the county's landfill, including recycling
facilities and acquisition of equipment with a useful life in excess
of five years for handling solid waste and recycling.
According to the materials you have provided, on November 4, 2004,
the Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners unanimously
adopted the levy of the one-percent sales surtax authorized in
section 212.055(3), Florida Statutes, commencing July 1, 2005, and
expiring December 31, 2019.[2] Projects enumerated in the ordinance
to be funded by the surtax include: road and bridge construction;
industrial development purposes (industrial park expansion and
general purpose economic development projects); development of the
Hamilton County Government Complex; construction at the landfill
(including recycling facilities and equipment with a useful life in
excess of five years); and operational expenses and any](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagfl0035&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)