Columbia City Council to revisit sales tax proposal Monday after delay

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia's 1% public safety sales tax proposal is back on the agenda Monday after being tabled in early May in a 4-3 vote.

If approved by the council, residents will be able to vote for the proposal on the August ballot.

According to city documents, the 1% tax increase is expected to bring in around $38 million for the city in the 2028 fiscal year. Funds will go to the city's fire and police departments for equipment, renovations and staffing. The city is looking to hire 50 police officers and 40 firefighters over the next four years.

A presentation for the council on Monday reports that lower-income households making a little under $16,000 per year would expect to see an over $81 increase in spending from the tax. An upper-income household making over $1.6 million per year would expect to see an increase in spending of over $2,000. These impacts were calculated based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Columbia reports the city's population has grown by around 49,000 residents since 2000, and the rate of officers per every 1,000 residents has decreased over the past two decades.

The City of Columbia currently stands at around 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents. Similar-sized Missouri cities like Springfield and Independence sit at around 2.1 and 1.9 officers per 1,000 residents, respectively.

The report also cites a previous local survey from January. Out of over 800 Columbia residents, 69% of respondents did not think Columbia has enough police officers and firefighters. Of that total, 55% said they would support a tax to increase the number of police officers and firefighters in the city.

The Columbia City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday.

The Boone County Sheriff's office is also proposing a 1% public safety tax on the ballot. The County will host a public hearing on the tax increase at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at the county government center.