Brevard County · November 3, 2026
We started restoring the lagoon ten years ago. Now we decide whether to finish the job.
In 2016, Brevard voters approved a ½-cent sales tax dedicated to lagoon restoration. The 2026 ballot asks whether that existing funding stream continues for another ten years.
140 complete92 in progress171 not yet complete or in progress
Audit the claims in the Evidence Library ↗What did we get?
Your ten-year lagoon report card.
Big numbers first. Definitions, caveats and source records are one click deeper.
So what remains unfinished?
171 projects in the current adopted plan are outside the completed and in-progress categories. Another 92 are already in design, under contract or under construction. The renewal question is not whether to begin a new restoration program. It is whether Brevard continues the existing effort long enough to finish it.
Is it working?
Some important indicators are improving. The lagoon is not yet recovered.
Seagrass extent
+72%
District mapping increased from 9,924 hectares in 2023 to 17,042 hectares in 2025. That is a 72% gain from the recent low, while remaining roughly 40% below the lagoon’s mid-2000s extent of about 72,000 acres.
Measured · 2023–2025 · supported with qualification See the measurement ↗Manatee mortality event
Closed
The manatee starvation emergency was formally closed on March 14, 2025 after mortality returned to expected levels. Closure does not mean the habitat or forage base is fully recovered.
Administrative · FWC / NOAA See the FWC record ↗What we are not claiming
System-wide improvement does not mean every basin improved equally, every project performed exactly as modeled, or restoration alone caused every ecological gain.
Recovery is measured by multiple indicators over time Audit the recovery evidence ↗It’s working. It isn’t finished.
Central lagoon areas remain troubled. Legacy muck remains. Storms can reverse gains. Recovery is a reason to finish the work, not a reason to stop measuring it.
The pivotal question
If it’s working, why isn’t it finished?
The next vote is not about starting lagoon restoration. It is about whether Brevard continues funding an unfinished restoration program.
Plan→
Engineer→
Permit→
Bid→
Build→
Verify
Septic-to-sewer systems, wastewater plants, stormwater infrastructure and muck-removal projects can spend years in design and permitting before construction begins.
Make it local
What has been done near you?
Choose your area to see the project records, status, category, costs and source documents currently indexed by the Evidence Library.
Where did my money go?
Collected, paid, committed and remaining are different things.
$539.7M local surtax collected
$119.8Mcumulative actual expenditures
$335.2Massociated with work in progress
$84.7Mcomputed difference: collected − spent/committed
+$127.3M outside grants leveraged
Why hasn’t all the money been spent yet?
A wastewater plant, septic-to-sewer system, stormwater project or muck dredging operation is not bought off a shelf. Projects move through engineering, permitting, bidding, contracting and construction before money is finally paid out. Committed money is not the same thing as unused money.
The central question
Why not finish what we already started?
Brevard already has projects engineered, permitted, contracted and under construction. Renewal continues the dedicated funding stream supporting that work. A NO vote does not automatically create a better replacement plan or another source of money.
Accountability? Absolutely. Starting over? That’s a different choice.
Before you vote
Ask the five questions that matter.
1. What did we accomplish?
140
Projects completed in the current County snapshot.
2. Where did the money go?
Separate collected, paid, committed and remaining funds instead of treating them as one number.
3. Did conditions improve?
Some important indicators have. Others remain weak. The honest answer is improving, not recovered.
4. What work is unfinished?
92 projects are in progress and 171 are outside complete/in-progress status.
5. What happens if I vote NO?
The renewed dedicated revenue stream does not take effect after the current authorization expires. Existing balances and contracts do not vanish, but no replacement plan or funding source appears automatically.
See the exact ballot and both outcomes →The actual decision
What does my vote change?
Dedicated funding continues.
- The ½-cent revenue stream continues for the next authorization period.
- Planned and unfinished work can continue receiving dedicated local funding.
- Ecological recovery is not guaranteed; measurement and accountability still matter.
The renewed revenue stream does not take effect.
- Existing legally available balances and contracts do not simply disappear.
- No automatic replacement funding source is created.
- No automatic replacement restoration program is created.
Five-minute conclusion