Broward County's aging courthouse won't be replaced anytime soon, nor will there be more buses and extensive rail service to relieve congestion on area roads.

Voters overwhelmingly rejected increasing the sales tax to improve mass transit and property taxes to expand the court system, according to unofficial results from the Broward Supervisor of Elections.

The defeat of the courts referendum will slow but not kill plans for a new courthouse. However, the downfall of the transit tax is likely to hamper efforts to ease traffic gridlock for years to come.

Supporters of both ballot issues struggled to overcome voter discontent over higher tax assessments and insurance rates. It was the third time voters rejected a sales tax increase since 1990.

Broward businessman Jim Cummings of the pro-tax People for Progress said the outcome wasn't surprising, given the lack of consensus on the County Commission over the transportation tax.

"It was very difficult to overcome that," Cummings said. "This is probably the most significant issue facing Broward County today. The losers are the citizens, by not having this pass. The conditions out there are not going to get any better."

In another sign of anger with the tax system, voters approved a nonbinding referendum that urges the Legislature to allow homeowners to take their Save Our Homes tax break with them when they move. The exemption caps how much the taxable value of an owner-occupied home can increase each year, but government tax rates apply to a home's full value when people buy a new home.

Anti-tax leader Mark Eckert, of Ax the Tax, said voters didn't buy into the transportation tax after county commissioners said they wouldn't be bound to honor the list of transit projects they endorsed three weeks ago.

"This isn't a good time to be asking anyone to raise their taxes," Eckert said. "Everyone's mortgages are going up. And then [county officials] come out and ask the public for more. I don't know how they can come up with the gall to do that."

County commissioners put the tax issues on the ballot this summer, unanimously approving the courthouse vote but narrowly agreeing to the transit vote.

The current courthouse shows the wear of 10,000 visitors a week and is too small for the growing caseload, officials say. The elevators are frequently broken; the air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems are overburdened, and mold and mildew problems persist.

The referendum asked voters to approve a 30-year loan that would increase property taxes about $33 a year for the average homeowner. The county planned to demolish the older parts of the courthouse, build a 25-story tower and expand the newer part of the current courthouse along with the three suburban satellite courthouses.

Commissioners had set aside $50 million from the regular budget to buy land for the tower and said they likely will proceed with that rather than risk losing to other development the prime downtown Fort Lauderdale property at Southeast Third Avenue and Sixth Street. They will choose between asking voters to reconsider sometime in the next couple years or borrowing money themselves at higher interest rates.

The transportation tax faced problems even before the campaign began. The county refused to help finance advertising or to back an ambitious plan drawn up by business leaders on how the money would be spent.

Oakland Park resident Sue Patton voted against the transportation tax.

"I don't want any more taxing. I think we have the best transportation system we can have without having a subway," said Patton, 46, after casting her vote Tuesday evening at the Oakland Park Library. "Transportation is not enough of a problem if I'm going to have to pay more for it."

The county's plan called for buying more than 100 new buses, creating express shuttles between suburbs and busy locations, synchronizing traffic lights and creating rapid transit routes with limited stops.

In a non-binding referendum, voters also overwhelmingly agreed to let the Broward Soil & Water Conservation District create an independent Watershed Improvement District to educate the public about water pollution from runoff sources, such as illegal dumping.

Tuesday's results should help the existing conservation district decide whether to ask voters to formally create the watershed district in a second vote within two years.

Staff Writers Elizabeth Baier and Lisa J. Huriash contributed to this report.

Michael Turnbell can be reached at mturnbell@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4155 or 561-243-6550.