By Carisa Biesecker

When you are paying your taxes, do you ever wonder where all your money is going? Well, the Community Investment Tax (CIT) is just one way Hillsborough County is putting your tax dollars to good use in the Brandon area.

"The tax was first used to fund Raymond James Stadium and in doing so, was promised to provide funding for other community projects," states Stacy Williams, community relations coordinator.

Approved by voters in 1996 and funded by a half-cent addition to the sales tax, the CIT has provided funding to a variety of projects in Brandon.

Such projects include the Brandon Senior Center ($1 million), the Brandon Fire Station (estimated $536,000), the Brandon Regional Service Center ($5.5 million) and the Brandon Main Street Project on Pauls Dr. (estimated $5.3 million for design).

The Gornto Lake Rd. extension will pull $12.6 million from the tax revenue for development, while the Lumsden Rd. project from Providence Rd. to Pauls Dr. cost $1.4 million and the Providence Rd. widening cost $9.8 million. The tax also helped to pay for additions to Limona Park (estimated $50,000) and renovations to the Brandon Library ($27,000).

Some Brandon area schools renovations and additions helped out by the tax are Brandon High School ($15.9 million), Mann Middle School ($4.6 million) and McLane Middle School ($5.7 million).

"Projects are designated through a need in a department, whether it be a library, park, water treatment plant, senior center or transportation services," states Steve Valdez, Hillsborough County community relations coordinator. "All projects are citizen-driven as to what is needed in these areas and how facilities can fulfill this need. It would be a deficit in the community in respect to capital and infrastructure if there were no CIT. The funding would have been cut from something else or mainstreamed from somewhere else."

Hillsborough County is able to use the funds towards projects associated with public safety, education, transportation, water, wastewater, reclaimed water, storm water, community stadiums, parks, libraries, museums and government facilities. All projects associated with the tax are under the Board of County Commissioners and will be subject to a public hearing as funding initiates for the project.

To date, Hillsborough County has benefited from $790 million produced from the community investment tax and it is estimated that $4.7 billion will be made over the 30-year life of the tax. In the future, schools will receive 25 percent or $1.2 billion, the community stadium will receive six percent or $290 million and Hillsborough County will receive 69 percent or $3.3 billion for projects around the area.

"Funds can only be used for design and construction of capital projects and cannot be used for the operation of projects," states Valdez, who mentions that all applicants must show that their funding can support such additions to their facilities in the long run.