Interest in two proposed Alachua County taxes brought more than 40 people to the UF Hilton Conference Center Monday night to hear officials discuss opposing viewpoints.
Alachua County Emerging Leaders, a young professionals group, sponsored two 30-minute debates that covered the pros and cons of proposed local taxes.
If passed on the Nov. 4 ballot, the taxes would be used to fund conservation and the school system.
Alachua County Commissioner Mike Byerly spoke in favor of the Wild Spaces & Public Places referendum, a two-year, half-cent sales tax that would purchase conservation land and maintain parks.
Land conservation would buffer against flooding and encircle urban areas as the county expands, Byerly said.
He said there's not enough money in the budget to purchase land without cutting basic services.
Kevin Riordan, who is running for Byerly's County Commission seat in the November election, focused on the imposition of a new tax rather than land conservation.
Riordan said county spending is not efficient.
"We should not reward bad decision making with a new revenue stream," Riordan said.
During the second session, Dan Boyd, the Alachua County schools superintendent, and Stafford Jones, chairman of the Alachua County Republican Party, debated raising property taxes to go toward the school district's operating expenses.
Boyd argued in favor of the tax, saying that without it, Alachua County would be forced to reduce elementary school art and music programs.
Children should not be sold short because of an economic crisis, Boyd said.
Jones said he worried that increasing property taxes could worsen problems in the housing market in the future.
"I still think the worst thing we can do is keep putting downward pressure on our housing markets by raising taxes right now," he said.
