On March 12, the voters of Oldsmar will get to choose whether to allow the city to direct some of its ad valorem taxes as an incentive for the attraction of new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses in the city. This use is permitted by the State of Florida Constitution only by an ordinance passed by the municipality.
The Board of Directors of the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce have voted to support passage of this referendum.
Chamber President Jerry Peruzzi noted that “Oldsmar is a great city for business. We are a net importer of jobs from the tri-county area; Oldsmar actually has more jobs than it has residents. This robust business base has allowed Oldsmar to keep its millage rates either unchanged or lowered for the past twenty-five plus years while adding some substantial infrastructure including a state of the art water generation plant, upgrading their water treatment plant and developing their parks and recreation that have literally become an international draw. Giving the city the flexibility to use ad valorem taxes as an incentive for carefully screened and targeted businesses helps insure that we will remain a regional economic development leader.”
