ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County's transportation sales tax initiative will not appear on November's ballot.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County's transportation sales tax initiative idea has been tabled until 2026 and will not appear on this year's ballot 

  • Earlier this year, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings began discussions to revisit the plan, which would have collected money for infrastructure improvements

  • In 2022, only 42% percent of voters said yes to a sales tax increase that would have generated about $600 million each year

Mayor Jerry Demings opted to table the idea until 2026.

He said there were several questions among members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners that would have needed to be answered before the measure could be approved in time to get it on this year’s ballot.

“We will continue to look within our means with our existing budgets to incrementally address some of the concerns. The major transformational things cannot be done within the breath of the current budget that we have,” Demings said.

Earlier this year, Demings began discussions to revisit the plan, which would have collected money for infrastructure improvements.

In 2022, only 42% percent of voters said yes to a sales tax increase that would have generated about $600 million each year.

County leaders say that money would have paid for transportation projects aimed at easing traffic congestion, improving public transit and making roadways safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians.

Since re-launching the initiative, Orange County hosted several community feedback events.

Orange county leaders say over the years, they have gathered 19,000 transportation surveys and have had around 300 community engagement meetings.

Mayor Demings says he’s using the board’s decision as an opportunity to reach out to even more community members than before.

“We did not say we won’t try this in the future. We’ll just get more of their input. At the end of the day, we have to get more people engaged in the process,” Mayor Demings said.

Mayor Demings says he can’t go down this path alone. He needs help from residents.  

Eric Grimmer, chapter lead for Orlando Yimby, agrees with the mayor and county commissioners. 

He says it’s okay to wait this out. 

“If it failed again in 2024, we maybe wouldn’t see it for 20 years. There would be no appetite to pursue it. I think the board of county commissioners did the right thing,” Grimmer said.

Orlando Yimby is a chapter of Yimby Action, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for more housing, which stands for “yes in my backyard.”

Grimmer says transportation and housing are directly linked and that this sales tax can benefit everyone, no matter who you are. 

“Some people in Orange County may not have the intention of ever riding an expanded bus system or expanded SunRail, but they will benefit from other people doing it, because you know what those people will not be doing? They won’t be driving,” Grimmer said.

Mayor Demings says as they move forward, there is a transportation survey residents can fill out.

Diving deeper into the transportation improvements Orange County has seen, Lynx collaborated with the county last year to create the accelerated transportation safety program. 

That’s meant to use the current sales tax to fund transportation projects in the county. 

Also, at the end of March, Lynx has proposed an operational plan to enhance route frequency, cut down on wait times, and increase bus shelters.