Centralia to put sales tax increase on April ballot
CENTRALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) - The City of Centralia will seek a sales tax increase to be approved by voters in the April 2026 municipal election.
Centralia City Administrator Tara Strain told ABC 17 News the increase would take the city's sales tax from 1% to 2%. As of now, the additional revenue would go to the city's general revenue fund and not to any specific project or purpose.
Strain said the Centralia Board of Aldermen will vote whether to send the measure to the ballot. If approved, the board will send the ordinance and sample ballot to the Boone County Clerk by January 27. Strain said the board would also post the measure in the newspaper for the election notice.
According to Strain, the city's one-percent sales tax generated revenue over the past three years in the following amounts:
- Fiscal Year 2022-23: $502,118.51
- FY 2023-24: $582,459.28
- FY 2024-25: $559,789.01
Strain said projections for tax revenue in FY 2025-26 weren't available.
If voters pass the tax, the rate will remain at 2% until or unless it goes before voters again, according to Strain. She added the last general sales tax increase for Centralia was passed in 1981.
