By LAMAR THAMES

Here’s the deal. Clay County can forget about ever seeing a dime of property taxes being derived from the long-sought outer beltway project. It just isn’t going to happen. 

If the roadway is going to be built — and opinions vary whether that should happen — it will have to be with a guarantee that a still-to-be-decided contractor will not have to pay ad valorem taxes to either Duval, Clay or St. Johns counties, where the road will be built.

At least that is the opinion of Rep. Jennifer Carroll, R-Green Cove Springs, who along with Sen. Tony Hill, is pushing legislation to exempt the contractor of the project from paying property taxes, much to the chagrin of many in Clay County. Read the rest of this entry »