Voters in Mid-Missouri decide a few key issues
Polls opened 6 a.m. Tuesday for several towns in Mid-Missouri, with a few key issues on the ballots. In Columbia residents are deciding whether to extend the city’s capitol improvement sales tax, worth one-fourth of one percent. Proposition 1 would ensure the tax continues for the next 10 years.
It is currently due to expire at the end of year. It would generate an estimated $99 million, mainly to cover various road projects, along with building and bus shelter improvements.
The Boone County clerk’s office is planning to see about eight to 10 percent turnout among voters. Polling places close at 7 p.m.
In other races – Sedalia will decide if the city can impose a local use tax on people who spend over $2,000 a year with out-of-state vendors. In Camden County, people are deciding whether to dissolve the village of Climax Springs. Osage County also has a $2.2 million bond issue for its public water supply district one.
Residents of Miller County are also voting on a tax levy for the Osage Beach Fire Protection District. If it’s approved, taxes will go up by 15-cents for every $100 of assessed property. The extra money will be used to hire six more firefighters and build a new training facility. Right now firefighters train in another city about half an hour away.
Chief Jeff Dorhauer says the current rate has not changed in the last 15 years, so a raise is certainly due because the call load has increased about 120 percent in that time, from about 800 calls a year to over 1,800.
