Opinion
March 31, 2010
Apparently I ruffled some feathers after a recent post regarding the sales tax question on the upcoming ballot. I have no opinion on whether or not voters should pass the tax increase, but I do have a few questions.
The city seems to be using the excuse “the buildings are old and decaying” as grounds for a new construction project. My question would be “why did you wait this long to do anything about it”? Also, why did the city ask for (and receive) a sales tax increase less than a year ago for police if they knew the buildings were in such need of repair? Assuming that this sales tax will pass simply because residents have previously approved increases for building a new Fire/EMS facility, Outdoor Pool and Community Center borders on arrogance.
The city assures us that the sales tax won’t be quite as high as some neighboring towns, and that the sales tax will expire once the project is complete. While it will be true that 15 area cities would still have higher taxes, there are 50 municipalities being represented in the metro area. Harrisonville currently has the 12th lowest sales tax. Also, comparing the sales tax to Raymore and Belton is slightly misleading as they represent the 2nd and 3rd highest in the region, respectively.
And another issue of importance - the city is completely ignoring the Transportation Development Districts, where the sales tax is 1% higher than elsewhere. This means that if you shop at Wal-Mart, McDonald’s or Sutherlands, you will be paying almost 9 % in sales tax!
There is no question the buildings are small and deteriorating. But at least try to give the residents some proper perspective when proposing a tax increase.
