Citrus County TDC approves $135,540 GovOS project to locate uncollected short‑term rental taxes

The Citrus County Tourist Development Council voted unanimously July 22 to begin procurement for a short‑term rental compliance service and to request a $135,540 special‑project budget transfer to pay for the work, staff said.

Staff told the council the software, identified in materials as GovOS, will track listings across dozens of platforms, geo‑validate addresses and provide screenshots and automated notices to owners who appear out of compliance. Terry (last name not specified in the meeting record) and a vendor representative said the system can separate activity by community and identify owners who live outside the county or state.

Staff framed the purchase as an enforcement and revenue‑capture tool. During the briefing they said the county’s tax collections for short‑term rentals are processed by the Florida Department of Revenue and that local officials lack detailed visibility into who is collecting and remitting transient rental taxes across Citrus County. The proposed service would allow staff to identify listings not captured by the Department of Revenue, notify owners and produce data for future policy decisions.

Vendor representative Jack Downing, introduced himself on the record as an enterprise account executive with GovWest, and described how the software backtracks and geo‑validates listings across 40–50 platforms (including smaller sites such as Craigslist). The vendor said dashboards can produce screenshots of listings, show nightly rates and count how many times a unit rented, and produce reports organized by jurisdictional boundaries.

Staff and the vendor gave examples from other Florida counties. Staff said GovOS‑using counties reported compliance near 96–98 percent and that other counties captured significant previously uncollected revenue when they combined identification with enforcement. Staff estimated Citrus County may be missing roughly $1,000,000 in lodging taxes and identified roughly 800 short‑term listings in the county (an estimate staff said could vary). Staff and the vendor also said a conservative return on the roughly $135,000 investment would exceed the contract cost.

Council members from several municipalities asked how enforcement would work in cities that already prohibit or regulate short‑term rentals. Staff and the vendor said the software would produce location‑specific reports and automated notices but that follow‑up enforcement (zoning, fines, or registration requirements) would be carried out by the city or jurisdiction that has the local authority.

The council approved two related recommendations listed as E3A and E3B: (A) authorize staff to proceed with procurement procedures to secure GovOS services, and (B) request that the Board of County Commissioners approve a special‑project budget transfer of $135,540 to fund those services. Max Schoeman made the motion; Lou Ann Jacobs seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

What the action does and what it does not do: the TDC vote authorizes procurement steps and forwards a budget transfer request to the county commission; it does not itself change county tax rules or create new enforcement powers. Staff said the software is intended to give the county information to use when it coordinates with courts, the Department of Revenue and municipal governments on enforcement and potential registration or fee changes.

Council members said they supported the effort both to capture revenue and to provide data for future decisions about registration fees, enforcement and neighborhood impacts. Several members emphasized the tool is intended to “level the playing field” between professional out‑of‑county owners and local operators.

Votes at a glance: the motion to proceed with procurement and to request the $135,540 BOCC transfer (E3A and E3B) passed unanimously. (See the formal actions section below for the recorded mover, seconder and the member roll‑call of those present.)

Next steps: staff will complete procurement steps, coordinate with county finance on the special‑project transfer to the Board of County Commissioners, and return with implementation details and reporting dashboards, staff said.