The newly formed Citizens Commission on Community Investment is set to meet at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16 in the city’s Busch Building downtown. The meeting is open to the public.
The commission will consider whether the city should ask voters to approve the renewal of a three-quarter-cent sales tax passed back in 2009. The tax successfully bailed out a $200 million hole in the city’s police-fire pension fund. And the tax has already been renewed twice by voters — most recently in 2019 — but it’s set to sunset on March 31, 2025.
Commission set to consider public safety, Forward SGF spending
A key question in front of the commission is how to spend potential tax money if the tax is extended beyond the sunset. City Council ordered the commission to study how to continue keeping the pension funded. But they’ll also consider new spending under the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan — especially on public safety.
If a tax renewal question goes to voters, it would be on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Commission is expected to report back to Council by June 30.
Who serves on the Citizens Commission on Community Investment?
The council resolution passed unanimously on April 8 designates the following 30 people as members of the commission. They're listed in the order they were listed in a Monday-night city news release.
- Phyllis Ferguson, Co-chair, former mayor pro tem; business owner
- Tom Prater, Co-chair, former Council member, physician
- Logan Aguirre, 417 Magazine publisher
- Christina Angle, The Erlen Group
- Kevin Ausburn, SMC Packaging
- Alice Barber, Springfield Tenants Unite leader
- Brent Brown, Entrust Property Solutions owner
- Megan Buchbinder, The Network; Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
- Jerome W. Compton, former City Council member; Missouri State University
- Teresa Coyan, CoxHealth government affairs executive
- Orin Cummings, Messiah Lutheran Church pastor
- Chad Davis, International Association of Firefighters member; firefighter
- Leslie Forrester, Springfield Regional Arts Council executive director
- Denise Fredrick, former SPS school board president; retired teacher
- Brendan Griesemer, Restore SGF executive director
- Bill Hennessey, Mercy executive
- Sandra Huston, neighborhood leader
- Winter Kinne, Community Foundation of the Ozarks president
- Andrew Lear, former City Council member and liaison to the Police-Fire Pension Board
- Sid Needham, former Springfield-Greene County Park Board member
- Eric Pauly, Springfield Planning & Zoning Commissioner; Phelps Grove Neighborhood Association member
- Steve Prange, CMT consultant associated with Lake Springfield Plan
- Pete Radecki, Bissett Neighborhood Association member
- Jacob Ruder, Springfield Council of Better Business executive director
- Krisi Schell, SRC corporate executive
- Jeff Schrag, business owner, founder of Mother's Brewing
- Rusty Worley, Downtown Springfield Association executive director; West Central Neighborhood Alliance member
- Andrew Zinke, Springfield Police Officers Association member; police officer
- Mayor Pro Tem Matt Simpson, chief research and governmental affairs officer for Ozarks Technical Community College, City Council liaison
- Councilman Abe McGull, attorney and former federal prosecutor, City Council liaison
