The Collier County Board of County Commissioners are poised to move forward with a plan that would require it to payback any funds taken from Conservation Collier.
This potential change to the Conservation Collier ordinance as well as multiple other changes. if approved later this month, would streamline the purchases of land.
All lands purchased are done so through willing sellers. In a 2002 and then again in 2020, a super-majority. That represents $100 for a home with a taxable value of $400,000. Not long after the first referendum, the commissioners approved a ballot question that asked voters if they truly did mean to tax themselves. A staggering 86 percent said yes.
The money, according to ordinances related to the program, was only to be used for the purchase and care of such lands. But that’s not what happened six months ago.
During a budget hearing, the county voted 4 to 1 to raid the Conservation Collier funds of millions of dollars so that it could balance its budget and tell taxpayers that they were getting a tax break. Burt Saunders was sole commissioner voting to not raid the funds.
This middle-of-the night decision by the board during a budget-hearing enraged many citizens.
After the raid, the board voted retroactively to a give itself the authority to do as it sees fit with this special tax.
To date, there has been no plan set in place to pay the more than $50 million back, something that at least commissioners Sanders and Bill McDaniels says should be done.
Last year's raid was not the first time funds have been taken from Conservation Collier. After Hurricane Irma, the commission took some fund for cleanup after the 2017 storm ... but later replenished it.
Now, if approved later this month, any future funds removed must be returned as quickly as possible. The final decision is expected to be made at the next county commission meeting on March 26.
A record-setting number of people — 61 — signed up to address the board on Tuesday when it was discussing changes to the Conservation Collier ordinance. The majority of the proposed changes could, if approved, make the process of buying lands more swift.
But that is not why the public was there. One proposal reiterated four times that the board had the authority (by majority vote) to do what it wanted with this special tax, essentially codifying the raid and retroactive ordinance last year. The board decided the position only needed to be said once and it decided to add language that funds taken from Conservation Collier must be returned.
Rev. Tony Fischer reminded the board that it had a moral obligation to follow the will of the voters who overwhelmingly voted to tax themselves and use the money to buy sensitive lands.
“And we have a responsibility a moral responsibility to balance our work of development with a really strong sense of stewardship for this planet,” Fischer said. “From a moral perspective, we have that responsibility all of us to maintain this planet and all its creatures as best we can.”
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.