Placing ECHO/Volusia Forever on fall ballot under consideration

Posted On: February 20, 2020

After hearing strong pitches from advisors to both programs, the County Council took a preliminary first step this week towards asking voters this fall if they want to renew the ECHO and Volusia Forever programs for another 20 years. While no final decisions could be made on Tuesday because they were meeting in an informal workshop session, council members said they want to take up the matter next month.

Both programs have helped fund millions of dollars in recreational facilities and land preservation efforts in Volusia County that have been widely popular with the public. But both require voter-approval and come with small property tax levies of up to two-tenths of a mill each. Originally approved in 2000, the current programs are scheduled to sunset at the end of this year if voters don’t extend them.

The ECHO program provides grant funds to finance acquisition, restoration, construction or improvement of facilities for environmental, cultural, historical and outdoor recreational purposes. And the Volusia Forever program finances the acquisition and improvement of thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive, water resource protection and outdoor recreation lands that are being managed by the county as conservation stewards in perpetuity.

“This enhances the quality of life for everyone,” said Dennis Bayer, who served on the Volusia Forever advisory committee before it disbanded because the program had essentially spent all of its land acquisition funds.

Combined, the programs have raised approximately $168 million since voters first approved them – Volusia Forever with 61.3% of the vote and ECHO with 57.5% of the vote.

No council member at Tuesday’s workshop opposed putting the question of reauthorizing the programs and their accompanying tax levies on the ballot this fall. Initially, it was a question of timing – when to make the decision. The council is facing an August deadline in order to get the questions on the November general election ballot. But a majority of the council members said they wanted to move more quickly on the threshold question of putting the programs on the ballot and then work out the details later in order to have more time to talk to voters before the election. The council’s legal staff explained that many referendum details typically are worked out in an implementing ordinance after the voters have their say. And that’s exactly what most council members said they wanted to do in order to get the ball rolling.

“This seems to be well supported by the community,” said council member Barb Girtman. “I don’t think we need to drag our feet with making that decision…”

One of the strongest pleas on Tuesday for moving forward expeditiously came from Pat Northey, vice chair of the county’s ECHO Advisory Committee and a former council member who was on the council back in 2000 when the dual programs were created. She helped lead the way to using ECHO funds for financing a series of popular multi-use trails around the county. Northey said ECHO advocates need as much time as possible to help raise awareness about the good that has come from the program – especially to voters who moved here sometime in the past 20 years ago.

“Since we authorized in 2000, our county population has grown by almost seventy-five thousand people – folks who, while they have enjoyed the ECHO projects, they really don’t know a lot about the program,” Northey told the council. “So we feel like we have an education effort ahead of us, and sooner is better than later.”

While the council gave strong indications on Tuesday that it’s going to move the ballot questions forward, many details will need to be aired out. If voters agree to reauthorize the programs, the council will need to decide issues like whether to change the maximum amount of the grants, how much matching funds will be required in order for a project to qualify and whether to expand the potential uses of the money beyond the original program guidelines. For instance, the ECHO Advisory Committee is recommending that water quality projects be allowed to qualify for ECHO funding. With the Volusia Forever program, county staff said more funds would need to set aside to help pay for management of the environmentally-sensitive preservation lands – currently about 41,000 acres – to avoid having to continue dipping into general fund tax dollars.

If the ECHO program is renewed, some council members, including Deb Denys and Fred Lowry, discussed whether the tax collections should be temporarily reduced or stopped until the current program funds are spent down.

“I like the idea of adjusting maybe the millage from time to time to prevent a large build-up,” said Lowry. “Because then that shows the citizens that we’re being good stewards of that and not letting that get out of hand.”

The issue is tentatively scheduled to come back to the council for further discussion at is March 3 meeting.