Lawsuit challenging Taylor County school tax referendum dismissed

TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. (WCTV) - A lawsuit surrounding the half-cent tax levy on Taylor County ballots has been dismissed, according to court documents.

In October, a lawsuit was filed by two Taylor County voters and the Taylor County Citizens for Responsible Government seeking to remove the half-cent tax levy from the ballot.

Their primary claim was that the referendum’s ballot summary was longer than Florida’s 75 word limit. The group also claimed the measure was misleading, suggesting the tax levy was for school operations as opposed to the school improvements it would go toward.

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Court documents filed last week show the suit has been dismissed.

According to court documents, the court entered an order preventing the defendants, including the Taylor County Canvassing Board and the Supervisor of Elections, from reporting or certifying the results of the referendum vote. Voters were still allowed to cast their ballots and votes were still counted.

After votes were counted, the majority of Taylor County voters were against the referendum, according to court documents.

Because the referendum was not approved by the majority of voters and the tax will not be imposed, the complaint is moot, court documents said.

Both the plaintiffs and defendants agreed to dismiss the case without prejudice.

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