Marco Island is asking Collier County to put a sales tax request to voters that if approved all Collier residents would pay.
The city is looking for ways to handle continued growth and much-needed capital improvements.
Marco Island City Council sent a letter in February to Collier County Commissioners asking them to add a special sales tax to a referendum, similar to the 1-cent sales tax that was approved by voters in 2019 and continued to the end of 2023. Marco Island received $24.3 million from that tax for capital projects including Veterans Community Park and a new fire station, Interim City Manager Casey Lucius told the Naples Daily News Feb. 10.
The city is missing that money. After eight years of tax rollbacks that kept property taxes low, capital projects have been piling up.
Marco argues sales tax over tourism tax
“Collier County, including the City of Marco Island, continues to experience growth and increasing demands on public services, infrastructure, and quality-of-life amenities,” reads the letter to Collier County. “A voter-approved sales tax would provide residents with a transparent and democratic opportunity to decide whether additional, locally controlled revenue should be dedicated to addressing current and future community needs while helping to lessen the reliance on property taxes.”
The penny tax, which applied only to purchases under $5,000, was projected to take seven years to raise the funds for a set of capital projects, at an estimated $70 million a year. However, it surpassed everyone’s expectations, raising $490 million by September 2023, and roughly $550 million total by its sunset on Dec. 31 of the same year. The tax excluded necessities including groceries and gasoline.
When approved, the tax was set to collect $420 million for Collier County and another $70 million to be shared between Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City based on populations.
Unlike property taxes, tourists and other visitors paid into the tax – and their dollars drove the tax’s income.
While tourism in Collier County was flat in 2025, Collier County still collected about 3% more in tourist taxes over the previous year, and predictions are for renewed interest in 2026, Jay Tusa, Collier’s tourism director told county commissioners in October.
For Marco Island, the tourist tax isn’t a big income driver. While the city contributes to the county, it doesn’t see all that money returned.
“It is our position that the sales tax measure should be on the ballot prior to an additional tourist development tax that would fund only a small number of projects,” the City Council wrote. A sales tax focused on stormwater, drainage, and road infrastructure will benefit every County resident and should not be delayed. Placing this measure on the 2026 ballot would ensure strong voter participation and allow ample time for public discussion, education, and input regarding the purpose, duration, and accountability of the tax.”
Collier County plans to ask voters to boost hotel-room, short-term stay tax
The county already is proposing a referendum on the ballot for the next general election, scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. It would raise the tax charged on hotel and other short-term stays, from 5% to 6%. The tax increase would resolve a $305-million shortfall for operations and improvements to the county’s aging stormwater management system.
Marco Island raised its property taxes for Fiscal Year 2026, the first increase in eight years, but not by an amount that would solve all its capital needs. Councilors in July 2025 talked raising property taxes at a rate that would have been the largest increase in 17 years to make repairs to the city’s assets. The council raised the rate 2.18% instead of an initially proposed 34%.
The city used $8 million of the money from the 2019-2023 1-cent tax toward building Fire Station 50 and $5 million toward improving Veterans Community Park. The remaining funds were applied to repaving of city roads and significant improvements to the stormwater system.
City councilors held a workshop Feb. 9 to discuss a possible bond referendum and the city’s Parks Master Plan.
Among the projects the council must decide whether to pursue for a transportation bond are two bridge replacements, medians, intersection improvements, bike lanes and shared-use paths – all of which is estimated to cost as much as $59 million, however the city would ask voters to approve more like $100 million because of interest and debt service.
Municipal bonds, or munis, are a way for municipalities to borrow money. The bonds are sold and the seller (the city) makes a set number of interest payments over a predetermined period. At the end of that period, the bond reaches its maturity date, and the full amount of the original investment is returned to the muni buyer.
At the workshop, Lucius shared several transportation bond scenarios ranging between $30M – $59M depending on whether the City Council chooses bridge rehab or bridge replacements, dedicatedpaving funding for 10 years or catching up on paving. Although motions and votes aren’t allowed at workshops, a majority of councilors said they would want to focus on the lower bond figure.
This article originally appeared on Marco Eagle: Marco Island prefers special Collier sales tax to tourism tax increase
Reporting by J. Kyle Foster, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Marco Eagle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
