Gov. Rick Scott spoke briefly Monday at a hardware store in Bunnell, addressing the hurricane sales-tax holiday, which runs through Thursday.
BUNNELL — Gov. Rick Scott stopped by the DG Ace Hardware store in Bunnell on Monday to remind residents about the hurricane season sales-tax holiday, which began Friday and runs through Thursday.
The tax break is granted on certain purchases associated with hurricane preparedness. These include flashlights, radios, tarps, batteries, certain coolers, portable generators, reusable ice and more.
“My wife and I were talking about it last night,” Scott said. “Do we have everything we need? Do we have batteries? Do we have a hand-powered radio?”
This year's tax holiday has been extended to seven days. Last year, it was three. Scott said he thought this would give people more time to get prepared and would save consumers about $5.8 million in sales tax.
Scott said people were more focused on being ready this year, having witnessed the destructive power of Hurricane Irma, Harvey in Texas and Maria in Puerto Rico.
After a brief press conference, Scott spoke with some customers. Jeffrey Schaeffer, co-owner of several Ace Hardware stores, including the one in Bunnell and two in Palm Coast, said the stores see a “small bump” during a sales tax holiday and that the “real sales” usually happen when people see there’s a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic.
He said stores are kept open as long as possible in the days leading up to a storm and praised his employees for their dedication under such conditions.
“The employees really do an incredible job,” he said. “I mean, they really serve their community during that time.”
He recognized that the employees could remain home, but they go to work anyway.
“We’re really proud of all of them,” he said.
The Bunnell visit was part of a statewide series of stops Scott has been making to talk about the sales-tax holiday and the hurricane season, which officially began Friday. He said the state will be ready in case of another storm.
“We’re working with the National Guard to be ready,” he said. “We’re working with our local emergency management teams to be ready.”
Some lessons learned from Hurricane Irma include the importance of communication and keeping up fuel supplies. Scott said state officials have spoken with distributors and refiners to make sure people have the fuel they needed.
“Another thing that worked last year was having our highway safety escort the (gasoline) trucks from the fuel depots to the gas stations, which helped keep our stations open,” he said.
In addition, he asked the state Department of Transportation and the state Division of Emergency Management to review evacuation routes, and they suggested an increased use of roadside shoulders.
Scott also encouraged Floridians to visit floridadisaster.org to view the disaster supply kit checklist.
“I want everybody to be prepared,” he said.