We have two issues on the ballot for the election on Nov. 4. I believe they both deserve careful attention.
The first issue is a road and bridge question. We have been paying a 1/2 of one percent sales tax since 2005 that financed the building of our Justice Center. The center has been paid off now. The ballot question asks whether to keep the tax in place and use it now instead for improving our county roads and bridges. To me this sounds like a no-brainer because we already have this tax added to our sales tax purchases so it won’t change the tax rate we already pay.
Texas County is the largest county in our state. And we do not have large cities that generate a lot of sales tax money. Many Texas Countians live rurally and depend on our rural roads for getting to work, school bus safety and emergency services like fire departments and ambulances. There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of roads in Texas County. And we still use the old system of township road boards. I have great respect for the road board members that basically volunteer their time to make sure the roads are passable. But talk to a road board president and you will find out that these people struggle to keep the roads usable with very little funding.
Nobody loves taxes. But most people do want the services that come from them. Some dislike any tax. Others are willing to pay a fair share. The nice thing about the road and bridge question is that it does not raise our taxes, it just transfers the money to our roads.
The Homestead Tax Relief Question is an entirely different matter. I have rarely seen such a poorly written ballot question. I want you to understand that though it sounds like you would never have tax increases on your primary residence, actually if you improve your primary residence the valuation will change and hence your taxes would go up. The wording of this bill is so confusing that county collectors across the state are complaining that they cannot understand nor do they have the workers or software to figure out how to apply this poorly written bill. Further, school systems across the state are considering suing over this bill. Why is that? Because for instance, in our county approximately 80% of real estate tax collected goes to our schools. I will state my opinion clearly here. It doesn’t matter whether you have a child in the public school system, or you home school or even if you have no children, everyone benefits from having a good public school system. This is one of the things that makes a nation great. In the short run this bill wouldn’t affect school funding much, but as time passes inflation will leave schools in the dust.
This poorly written bill managed to get through the legislature with the likelihood it would be brought to the people next April for consideration. But it seems state Rep. Bennie Cook and state Sen. Brad Hudson were in such a hurry that they managed to get it on the November ballot. I am guessing that they want you to think of them as having lowered your taxes when it is time to vote for them again. But this is irresponsible. The bill is so poorly worded it may not survive to be implemented if it would pass. I will vote no on this bill.
The Homestead Tax Relief proposal will most likely hurt our public schools and that may be the intent. Along with the MOScholars program, which uses public money to fund private school scholarships, the tax relief proposal would be another step toward ending public education in Missouri. This county, state, and country need schools that are available to everyone not schools that further divide. I will vote no on the Homestead Tax Relief proposal.