Volusia Elected Officials Get Sales Tax Advice

Posted
The Volusia County Round Table Of Elected Officials meets
at Daytona Beach International Airports on March 11, 2019

Daytona Beach, FL - The leaders around Volusia County gather and get advice on just how to get their message out to the public regarding the half-cent sales tax.

On Monday (March 11th), the Round Table of Volusia County Elected Officials met at the Dennis McGee room in Daytona Beach International Airport.

There, officials met with the President of Clearview Research, Steve Vancore, who offered help on how elected officials can approach the topic of the half-cent sales tax to their constituents, including those who support and oppose it.

The main takeaway: be positive.

"If we want better roads, if we want cleaner water in Volusia County, this is the kind of tax you want," said Vancore.

According to Vancore, it's important for leaders to model and focus their message on what's positive about the sales tax and how it can help the residents and visitors that come into the county and its cities.

"The public isn't generally opposed to taxes. They're opposed to taxes [where] they don't know where their money goes," said Vancore.

Another point brought up by Vancore, is that they need to make sure that residents know the money will stay in Volusia County and be used for what the county needs.

"It does not go to Tallahassee, it does not go to Washington (DC), the money stays right here in our community," said Vancore. "To what? To give us better roads and give us cleaner water."

Officials were also told that a sales tax like this one is important for a county that see's a lot of annual traffic, such as during Speedweeks or Bike Week, because it gives tourists a chance to help pay for the roads they use.

Click here to listen to the meeting in its entirety.