A second board tied to the City of Seminole has come forward in opposition to a proposed quarter-cent sales tax to fund operations at the county jail.

On March 9, the Seminole City Council unanimously approved a resolution encouraging voters to reject the new tax, and on Friday, the Seminole Economic Development Council (SEDC) followed suit by adopting a resolution of its own.

Seminole County Sheriff Shannon Smith is seeking an additional quarter-cent sales tax for operations at the jail, which will be decided at the ballot box on April 6.

A half-cent sales tax was voted was approved by voters in 2006 to build and operate a new jail, which will drop to one-quarter cent in 2027. If the new proposal is approved, the jail tax rate will be three-quarters of a cent for the next few years, raising Seminole’s sales tax rate to 10 percent.

“The council recognizes that imposing an additional % cent sales tax would elevate Seminole’s sales tax to 10 percent, thereby placing Seminole’s merchants at a competitive disadvantage when competing against neighboring communities who are not subject to the same tax burden,” the resolution states.

In its resolution, the SEDC said it anticipates that essential economic development projects in Seminole will be hindered by a tax increase and believes that citizens would “choose to fund economic development priorities ahead of county jail operations which already have a funding source.”

The SEDC is chaired by Jack Mattingly, Sr. and its members include Dan Hamilton, Mike McCreight, Neil Craig, Zack Northrip, Mike Roberts, Bill Wantland, Chris Anson and Jeff Griffin.