Anna Maria Island’s three mayors are looking to the future and wondering how their communities and the town of Longboat Key can get bigger pieces of the Manatee County sales tax pie.
County officials are proposing a plan to raise the sales tax by 0.5 percent. If voters say “yes,” a 0.5 percent increase could mean an additional $28,110,200 for county and city coffers.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said he and the other barrier islands mayors — Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson, Bradenton Beach Mayor Bill Shearon and Longboat Key Mayor Jack Duncan — feel their communities aren’t getting enough money.
Currently sales tax is distributed by population: The larger the population, the more money received.
Murphy said the numbers the mayors are working on are based on 2014-15 tax revenue and it shows the county could gain close to $22,833,877. Bradenton could increase annually $3,704,085 and Palmetto could get $927,416.
“We’re dwindling communities,” Murphy said. “The vacation rental business is growing larger and larger and our populations are growing smaller and smaller.”
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Bradenton’s 2015 population to be 54,437. Palmetto’s 2015 population is 13,249. The city of Anna Maria’s 2015 population is estimated to be 1,669.
Feeling there is no way to compete with Bradenton and Palmetto, the island mayors are working on a new distribution plan that incorporates tourism.
Their plan is based on the tourist development tax — a countywide 5 percent tax on rooms rented for six months or less — that consistently brings in more tourist tax dollars from the four barrier island municipalities than Bradenton and Palmetto combined.
“We estimate more than 30 percent of the county’s sales tax comes from businesses here on the islands and 58 percent of the tourist tax comes from here, too,” Murphy said.
Murphy said the plan involves taking 10 percent of the proposed 0.5 percent sales tax and distributing it based on the tourist development tax. The other 90 percent would continue to be awarded to the cities based on population.
“Just redistributing 10 percent would increase Anna Maria’s share from $110,357 to $470,090.30. Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach and the town of Longboat Key would see significant revenue increases, too, according to Murphy.
The biggest roadblock, Murphy said, is an interlocal agreement between the county and its six cities. While the island municipalities would see an increase, the county, Palmetto and Bradenton would decrease in potential sales tax revenue based on the mayors’ plan.
Tax increases need voter approval. In 2013, voters decided against raising sales tax 0.5 percent.
If approved, the sales tax increase would go into effect January 2018.