The vote was the first time in 12 years that residents had voluntarily raised their taxes, and it capped a heavily financed campaign to build a coalition of supporters from the inner-city to affluent Beaches enclaves. The tax hike will cost consumers about $58 million in its first year, which begins Jan. 1. The sales tax will be 7 cents on the dollar, with exemptions for items including basic foods and medicine.

"I think it's a dramatic, progressive step for an older, established Southern city," Delaney said. "And I think it puts our future in our hands on how we're going to grow."

"We're not going to let you down," Delaney promised supporters at a party at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla.

Since unveiling the plan publicly in May, the mayor had spent nearly all of his energies promoting Better Jacksonville, a 10-year work plan he billed as a growth management initiative that would ease traffic congestion and protect the environment.

The plan includes $1.5 billion for transportation projects, primarily widening overcrowded streets.

It would also finance construction of a new courthouse, main library, arena and baseball park downtown, totaling $435 million; $75 million worth of sewer line extensions in areas with leaking septic tanks; $55 million for suburban library upgrades; $50 million to buy land for preservation; and money to clean polluted land, improve the Jacksonville zoo and promote economic development in Northwest Jacksonville and Cecil Field.

Better Jacksonville matches $1.5 billion from the tax with $750 million from existing revenues to pay for Delaney's work plan. The tax will be retired when bonds for the work plan are paid off, which is expected to take about 17 years. The tax could legally last up to 30 years.

With projects carefully parceled across all corners of the county, campaign organizers carefully tried to develop countless separate constituencies who would have reason to support the plan.

Voting at the Beaches, East Arlington and in core-city areas contained pockets of strong support, running as high as three-to-one in favor of the plan.

Supporters collected $1 million for a referendum campaign, financed heavily by businesses involved in construction.

But critics argued the plan raised people's taxes needlessly and tried to mount a grass-roots campaign to reject the hike.

And an opponent who sued last week to stop the referendum said he would keep fighting the election in court, claiming the ballot language was illegal.

"The mayor can jump and showboat tonight if he wants," said Andy Johnson, radio host and avid critic of the plan. "But his moment of glory will be short-lived."