Sunday, November 9, 2008

Almost 35,000 Monroe County voters on Tuesday approved a nonbinding referendum to keep the county-operated air ambulance in the Florida Keys skies, even if it means paying an extra tax.

That was the easy part.

Now the County Commission must hammer out a plan to levy a tax fraught with confusing verbiage that some voters said they didn't fully understand as they left the voting booth. How, when and where the tax will be levied is still up in the air, said Karl Borglum, assistant property appraiser.

Once commissioners decide how the tax will be levied, they then must go to each municipality in the Keys and ask their governing boards to pass an ordinance that would give the county jurisdiction to impose the tax, Monroe County Attorney Suzanne Hutton said.

Funding for Trauma Star will depend on the newly seated County Commission's ability to weigh taxing politics, voter approval, legal wrangling and public safety.