Opposition group makes late push against Proposition 1

Just two days away from the November election, a Boone County group is trying to build opposition for a property tax hike in Columbia.

William Samuels with Keep Boone County Free said there wasn’t much conversation about Proposition 1, because there was no organized opposition to it. Samuels said many people with the group, which also opposed the county sales tax increase for the Boone County Fairgrounds known as Proposition EPIC, either took a break from this election or work to support candidates in the November election.

The group opposed the property tax increase in the last few days, trying to spread its message online. If passed, the city will raise its property tax by six cents every year for five years – a total raise of thirty cents. That would bring the property tax in Columbia to 71 cents for every $100 of assessed value. Money raised from this would go towards public safety, such as the police and fire department, as well as the Municipal Court.

Samuels said he was wary of a permanent tax increase.

“People may decide later that maybe that wasn’t such a good after something has been in place for five years or ten years,” Samuels said. “We have a chance to see how well it works or doesn’t work. There should be a reasonable time for public review.”

The city added three new police officers and one new firefighter in the 2015 budget. In May, city Manager Mike Matthes said he could hire those new officers by raising the cost of some fines, such as parking tickets.

To further fund those departments to keep up with Columbia’s growing population, though, Matthes said the property tax would be the most reliable way.

“The best way to fund that is property tax, because that revenue doesn’t go away in a recession. It stays constant,” Matthes said in the State of the City address. “So for those core, foundational needs, property tax really is the way to go.”

The Columbia Police Officers Association also supports Proposition 1.

Samuels believes the city already has the money. Nearly 99% of the public safety budget in Columbia comes from the city’s General Fund, a portion of the city’s revenue collected through taxes, licensing and fines.

An explanation of the General Fund begins on page 81 of the budget.

Seventy-one percent of the General Fund comes from “general sources”, or money that can be spent throughout the different departments. That 71% equates to $59,677,405. Public Safety receives more than $38 million in discretionary spending. Samuels said that leaves at least $21 million available to be used for the services he called “essential.”

“They’re trying to turn it around and make it look like people who don’t want more taxes are against the police or against the fire department,” Samuels said. “It’s actually the [Columbia] City Council who have their priorities wrong.”

Public Safety receives the most money in discretionary spending from the General Fund – more than $30 million above the second-highest, the city’s Administrative category.

Samuels said tax increases for recreational or historic projects should be the ones subject to a ballot issue.

“If enough people will vote for it and pay for it, that’s alright with me,” Samuels said. “But these are the things we should be voting on. Not the firetrucks.”