Cass County: “where your tax dollars are going”
Posted By J.T. on June 9, 2009
Cass County has put out a public notice stating what tax dollars are used for. The information does not appear to be on the revamped site but you can sign up for future notices HERE.
There are designated taxes that must be used for certain services like roads, fire districts, and schools. “We simply want voters to see where their dollars go,” stated Associate Commissioner Bill Cook. “We are not saying these are bad things…but we want the voters to see what they voted on and where the dollars have to go.”
When it comes to PROPERTY TAXES, all taxing jurisdictions (schools, fire districts, etc.) bring in $87.6 million. The following is a breakdown what taxing jurisdictions receive from the voters. NOTE: Some voters do not live in a fire-district but pay for fire services through their city taxes; also…the only residents that pay the Junior College tax are residents that reside in the Junior College District. These numbers represent where all the property tax dollars collected in the county go. These have all been approved by the voters.
- . School Districts - 70% or $62,231,391
- · Cass County Cities - 11% or $9,968,805
- · Fire Districts - 6% or $4,976,354
- · Cass County Roads - 3% or 2,481,800
- · Cass County Library System - 2% or $1,858,689
- · Ambulance Districts - 2% or 1,841,014
- · Cass County Hospital - 2% or 1,654,043
- · Junior College - 1% or $703,406
- · Mt. Pleasant Road District - 1% or $475,337
- · Sheltered Workshops - 1% or $472,055
- · Surtax - 1% or $663,043
- · State of Missouri - Less than 1% or $371,741
As for sales tax - there are 4 that go to the county, and one of those is shared with the cities:
¼ Cent Law Enforcement and Justice Tax: 2,587,135 or 20% of the county sales taxes goes to this fund
¼ Cent Justice Center Building Tax: $2,584,622 or 20% of the county sales taxes go to this fund.
¼ Cent Road & Bridge Tax: $2,587,139 or 20% of the county sales taxes go to this fund.
NOTE: The County receives $1,724,759 or 66.7% of that 20% R&B fund
The Cities receive $862,379 or 33.3% of that 20% R&B fund
½ Cent General Revenue Sales Tax: $5,174,347 or 40% goes to Cass County General Revenue.
NOTE: Cass County does NOT rely on any “property tax” for its general revenue.
The General budget depends on sales tax - which was a move approved by the voters.
The public notice closes with this:
Citizen(s) often ask where their property tax dollars go. The list above are designated funds all voted on by voters of Cass County. Some of these were voted on 10, 20, or even 30 years ago and remain in place. This gives you some indication as to how voters have asked their tax dollars to be spent.
This also shows what happens if you don’t show up to vote: other people can vote for a tax increase that you will still be paying on 30+ years later.
Comments