Voters in several area locations will visit the polls for special elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd. Several jurisdictions have tax levy proposals on their ballots to fund infrastructure and school improvements. In Kansas, voters in Baldwin City, Fairway and Edwardsville will decide on sales tax increases. Residents of Peculiar, Mo., are being asked to approve a gasoline tax. Liberty, Mo., voters will decide the fate of a proposed smoking ban in their city. All Jackson County ballots include the question of whether the county can continue to fund COMBAT, the Community-Backed Anti-Drug Tax. Read the issues being presented on the ballots below, and count on NBC Action News and NBCActionNews.com to bring you complete election coverage on November 3rd.
Cass County, Missouri
Cass County voters will decide issues for the cities of Peculiar and Belton, Mo. In Peculiar, voters are deciding on a proposed 20-cents per $100 of valuation tax levy to fund sanitary sewers. They are also voting on a proposed one-cent-per-gallon motor vehicle fuel tax to fund road projects. The third issue for the city of Peculiar is whether to impose a proposed $1,000 business license fee, plus 40-cents per ton of limestone sold or removed, for anyone conducting quarry or mining business in the city of Peculiar. Belton voters are deciding whether to allow the city to issue up to $3.5-million in sewer system revenue bonds to fund the city's wastewter treatment plant. The second issue in Belton is whether to ammend the city charter to change their Parks and Recreation Board from an administrative body to an advisory board.
Clay County, Missouri
Clay County voters are considering Proposition A, a proposal to extend a county-wide sales tax for 12 years to fund law enforcement. The tax is an extension of the county's current sales tax. Liberty voters will also vote on whether to enact a smoking ban which would prohibit smoking in enclosed places of employment and enclosed public places.
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County, Kansas voters in Baldwin City will decide the fate of two tax questions on Nov. 3. Proposition 1 asks voters to decide whether the city can impose a retail sales tax of one-half of one-percent to help fund infrastructure projects. The tax would begin on April 1, 2010 which is the same date the city's swimming pool sales tax expires. Proposition 2 asks voters to decide whether the city can impose a new 1/4 percent retail sales tax to fund "general quality of life improvements" there. The improvements listed are library, parks and recreation facilities. The city would begin collecting the tax on April 1, 2010.
Johnson County, Kansas
Fairway residents in Johnson County, Kan., are deciding whether to allow an additional one-half of one-percent retail sales tax in their city. The tax would begin on April 1, 2010 and would expire in 20 years. Revenue from the tax would fund capital improvements and pay debt service on bonds issued by the city. Fairway's election is being conducted by mail-in ballot.
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County, Mo., voters outside of Kansas City, Mo., are voting on three issues on Nov. 3. All Jackson County ballots include the question of whether the county can continue to fund COMBAT, the Community-Backed Anti-Drug Tax. The tax would continue at the current one-quarter of one-percent rate, for the next seven years. The tax funds arrest, prosecution, judicial intervention, incarceration, treatment and prevention of drug-related offenses and violent crimes. Residents of the town of River Bend, Mo., will also decide whether the town may issue $300,000 of revenue bonds for the town's waterworks system. Independence, Mo., residents will decide whether to increase the school district tax levy from 85-cents to one-dollar per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The money would be used to fund $85-million in bonds to build, repair and furnish schools in the district. Patrons of the district who live in Kansas City, Mo., will also vote on this same issue.
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Mo., voters will see several issues on their Nov. 3 ballots. All Jackson County ballots include the question of whether the county can continue to fund COMBAT, the Community-Backed Anti-Drug Tax. The tax would continue at the current one-quarter of one-percent rate, for the next seven years. The tax funds arrest, prosecution, judicial intervention, incarceration, treatment and prevention of drug-related offenses and violent crimes. Kansas City, Mo., residents who live in the Independence School District will decide whether to increase the school district tax levy from 85-cents to one-dollar per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The money would be used to fund $85-million in bonds to build, repair and furnish schools in the Independence, Mo., school district. Independence residents will also vote on this same issue. Residents of the Center School District will also vote on whether to approve the district issuing $6.75-million in general-obligation bonds to improve and equip school facilities. The tax levy in the district is expected to remain unchanged at 86-cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
Platte County, Missouri
Voters in Platte County, Mo., will decide on a new property tax levy in the North Platte R-I school district of 99-cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation. The levy would allow the North Platte County R-I School Board to borrow $6-million to fund repairs and improvements to district facilities. One of the facilities to be funded with that money is the intermediate school. The district would build a new intermediate school or renovate the existing intermediate school, whichever is more cost-effective.
Edwardsville, Wyandotte County, Kan.
Edwardsville voters are being asked to consider a half-cent increase in the city's sales tax, to help fund basic city services. The tax would not have an expiration date, and would be implemented on April 1, 2010. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Edwardsville Community Center, 696 S. Third Street.
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