Jacksonville City council members will discuss a tax at tonight’s meeting that would go to help the homeless.The CEO of Changing Homelessness, Dawn Gilman, told News4JAX last month that the model for this funding comes from Miami-Dade County.
In Miami, a one-percent tax on patrons at well-to-do restaurants goes to the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, which is the lead agency administering funding to nonprofits and other entities to help people experiencing homelessness. The tax only applies to those dining at restaurants with liquor licenses that bring in at least $400,000 a year, so for every $100 spent at such an establishment, $1 goes toward helping those in need.
Miami-Dade County has special permission from the state legislature to levy that tax locally, and City Councilmembers Jimmy Peluso and Michael Boylan want Jacksonville to have that opportunity, too. So, tell us, what do you think about a proposed hotel and restaurant tax to help the homeless in Jacksonville? Answer in the form below and your response may be read on a Channel 4 newscast.