Opinion By Guest Columnist and Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves
(Originally published in the Pensacola News Journal on October 27, 2026)
If you’ve ever called the Pensacola Police Department, you’ve benefited from Local Option Sales Tax.
If you’ve ever needed the Pensacola Fire department in an emergency, or even to help properly fit your child’s car seat into your car, you’ve benefited from Local Option Sales Tax.
If you and your kids or grandkids have played in a city park, you can thank the Local Option Sales Tax.
If you’ve used a community center for after-school or summer camp, or as a senior if you’ve gotten help with your taxes or just had a meal with friends, you’ve been helped by the Local Option Sales Tax.
The police vehicles our officers drive and the radios they use to call for backup. The fire trucks and emergency response vehicles that come to us in our hour of need. The playgrounds our kids and grandkids play on. The roads we drive and the sidewalks that get repaired.
All of that and so much more is made possible with the penny. Renewing it is not a tax increase — it is a vote to keep something that’s been in place and improving our community for more than 30 years. Given that up to 28 percent of LOST is paid by visitors, it is an important way that we can share the cost of maintaining what we have with everyone who uses our city.
Here’s just a snapshot of how the city has used the most recent round of LOST funds to help the Fire Department, the Police Department and the Public Works Department to make sure our streets are safe, our homes are protected and our roads, sidewalks and stormwater infrastructure can function.
Fire Department: $9.1 million
Major completed projects include $3.7 million for Fire Station 3, $5.3 million for the replacement of several fire trucks, new radios, a fire training simulator, thermal imaging cameras and other new equipment.
Police Department: $16.7 million
The substantial investment in PPD has included $9.6 million for new marked and unmarked vehicles, $6.5 million in new radios, facility upgrades and other new equipment.
Public Works: $19.6 million
LOST has helped the City Public Works team focus on infrastructure improvements, including street lighting, sidewalk enhancements, intersection improvements, and traffic management throughout the City. Key projects include $2.9 toward paving, $1.8 million for improvements on Burgess Road, and $1.1 million on the Palafox Road Diet.
Parks and Recreation Improvements and Equipment: $34 million
Investments in parks, public spaces, and athletic facilities in this round of LOST have been big: Athletic facilities and community centers saw $19.8 million. Park improvements saw $11.3 million. Fricker Center, Bayview Community Center, Roger Scott Tennis Center, Cecil Hunter Pool, and more have all seen LOST improvements.
The Local Option Sales Tax is a powerful penny — and it makes all of our lives better.
D.C. Reeves is the mayor of Pensacola.
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For more information or to access the original Pensacola News Journal article, visit the Pensacola News Journal site here.
