Drawing on more than four decades in law enforcement, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons explains how the one-cent Local Option Sales Tax helps keep our community safe by funding vehicles, technology and training without pulling dollars from the deputies who serve us every day.

During the recent hurricane, more than 900 deputies, officers and firefighters answered the call. See how the one-cent Local Option Sales Tax helps make sure they have the stations, vehicles and equipment to be there when we need them most.

Local Wedgewood resident Viola Simpkins explains why she's giving her full support to renewing the one-cent Local Option Sales Tax. She points to everything from the nearly $4 million in stormwater and sidewalk improvements it helped bring to her neighborhood to the penny's 34-year record of funding public safety, roads and parks across Escambia County.

Roads, parks and drainage are easy to see. The return on economic development is less obvious, but it can be measured. Here's what the penny’s small share in economic development does for Escambia County's economy.

Ever wonder what the penny has actually built in your neighborhood? Escambia County is hosting a L.O.S.T. Community Open House on Tuesday, 9/22 at the penny-funded Bellview Library, so residents can see the Local Option Sales Tax at work up close.

Escambia County residents have a new way to weigh in on the penny before it goes to a vote this November. A resident survey conducted through the University of West Florida is open now through Sept. 30, 2026.

Over the past decade, the Local Option Sales Tax delivered $550 million in roads, parks, public safety and infrastructure, touching nearly every community across Escambia County and the City of Pensacola. Here's where those dollars went.

Bruce Vredenberg joined Meg Peltier on the Pensacola Expert Panel on August 13, 2026 to walk through 30+ years of penny-funded projects, what the penny does and doesn't cover and why the November renewal matters for Escambia County residents.

From fire stations and patrol vehicles to modern training facilities, Escambia County's Local Option Sales Tax funds the public safety infrastructure our communities rely on every day. See how the penny supports our first responders.

From the north end of the county to the southwest corner, public libraries give residents dedicated spaces to learn, create and connect. See how the penny supports an evolving community through thoughtful capital investments.

L.O.S.T. revenues built Perdido Key's wildly popular multi-use path, giving walkers and cyclists a safe route off busy State Road 292. It won't be the last, with more trails already funded and coming soon.

Ever wonder where the Local Option Sales Tax came from? Read the history of the levy and why Escambia County keeps renewing the Penny.

Ever wonder how the penny is working in your neighborhood? Find out firsthand at a free community open house on July 27 at the Ferry Pass Community Center.

As voters prepare to decide on renewing the Local Option Sales Tax this November, Sheriff Chip W. Simmons explains how the penny has shaped ECSO’s readiness, and what's at stake for residents if the Escambia County Sheriff's Office loses this critical funding source.

A recent gathering at Dunwoody Park showed exactly how the penny keeps neighborhood playgrounds, sports fields and community centers thriving across the City of Pensacola.

The popular Fricker Resource Center on E Street is getting a long-overdue $10 million makeover — and the penny is helping make it happen.

When the Wedgewood Homeowners Association brought its neighborhood's drainage problems to District 3 Commissioner Lumon May, the result was $3.82 million in stormwater improvements funded in part by the Local Option Sales Tax.

With the Local Option Sales Tax renewal on the November ballot, we asked Escambia County Fire Chief Adam Harrison what the penny has done for fire rescue, what's underway, and what's at stake if it goes away.

Playground upgrades, improved accessibility, and new amenities at Miralla Park show how Escambia County's one-cent Local Option Sales Tax continues to enhance the everyday spaces where neighbors gather.

An independent analysis recently published by the UWF Haas Center found that L.O.S.T.-funded projects have generated $2.1 billion in economic impact for Escambia County, supporting thousands of local jobs and critical infrastructure across our community.