Columbia voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a one-cent sales tax for public safety, providing the city with an expected infusion of $38 million a year in funding to bolster its police ranks, build new fire stations and pay for many other services.
The measure, known as Proposition 1, won by a margin of less than 1%, according to returns on the Boone County elections website. Although results aren’t yet official, it appears that the sales tax measure passed by only 85 votes. The proposition was included on Columbia voters’ primary ballots.
The narrow approval of the sales tax came after city officials spent weeks speaking in favor of the new funding, saying the growing city needing the money to keep up with public safety needs.
“When someone calls 911, they are not asking how difficult the budget was or how many competing priorities the city faced,” Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer wrote in an opinion piece published by the Missourian. “They are asking for help; they need immediate relief from pain, freedom from being trapped, protection for themselves or their family and solutions to problems provided by trained professionals in the fire and police departments.”
But opponents of the proposal raised concerns about the prospect of raising sales taxes, and criticized city leaders for not doing more with the financial resources they already have. According to a presentation to the Columbia City Council, the proposed sales tax would lead low-income households to pay about $81 more annually, and middle-income households to pay about $268 more annually.
“Columbia is already approaching its own affordability crisis, and this tax lands hardest on the people with the least room to absorb it,” Reece Ellis, a Columbia resident and former chairman of the Citizens Police Review Board, wrote in a letter to the editor. “A permanent tax like that just becomes part of the budget’s furniture. Once it’s written in, nobody proposes taking it back out, whether or not it worked.”
Zachary Privette is the president of Columbia Professional Firefighters, IAFF Local 1055 and said he understands that many voters dislike increased taxes, but he was grateful for the work of his members and the opportunity to bring improvements to the Fire Department.
“Our members stepped up to the challenge with donations and campaign work, and I’m just so proud of them for their work and the support of the administration from the IAFF,” Privette said. “We knew we needed this to take the fire department to the future, and this going to put on a path forward with a bright future ahead.”
According to estimates on the city’s website, funds from the new sales tax will allow the city to hire an additional 42 firefighters and 50 police officers by 2031. Some of the funds are also going to be allocated toward a new police headquarters, which would cost an estimated $35 million and be located at an existing city owned property that is to be renovated along Lemone Industrial Boulevard.
Two new fire stations are set to be built, and stations 2, 4 and 6 are to be renovated.
Additionally, an estimated $11.6 million of the sales tax funding would be spent building up the city’s police and fire pensions over the next five years, decreasing the gap between current pension assets and the total amount of benefits promised to workers.
Following voting, Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe expressed gratitude at voter turnout numbers and said more details would be provided during a news conference Wednesday.
“I’m really grateful for everyone who participated, even those who disagreed with what we proposed,” Buffaloe said. “For me, it was about how we can best invest in local priorities, and I’m thankful for the voters who showed up tonight.”
Currently, Columbia residents generally pay 7.97% in sales taxes, including 4.2% for the state, 2% for the city and 1.75% for the county, along with sales taxes in particular taxing districts that add up to an additional 1%. The additional tax provided by Proposition 1 would put Columbia at the fourth highest sales tax rate in Missouri, behind St. Louis, St. Joseph and Kansas City.
