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July 22 is the date for Springfield City Council’s public hearing on possible November sales tax ballot measure

Springfield City Council meets at the Police-Fire Training Center, 2620 W. Battlefield, to consider a city sales tax proposal on Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
Gregory Holman/KSMU
Springfield City Council meets at the Police-Fire Training Center, 2620 W. Battlefield, to consider a city sales tax proposal on Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.

On Monday night, Springfield City Council will hold a public hearing on whether to send a 3/4-cent sales tax measure to voters. The proposed tax measure would pay for public safety efforts and community projects.

Supporters and opponents of sales taxes will get the chance to share their views with City Council at a meeting set for Monday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m.

At their temporary facility in Springfield’s Police-Fire Training Center off Battlefield Road, Council will hold a public hearing on a bill that would send a 3/4-cent sales tax question to Springfield voters on November 5. It would generate roughly $45 million per year.

If voters approve the proposed measure, it wouldn’t raise local taxes — but would essentially renew Springfield sales taxes at their current level. Voters originally approved the 3/4-cent measure back in 2009 to address a dramatic shortfall in pension funding for firefighters and city police.

The current measure has been developed by the Citizens Commission on Community Investment, a group of 30 local leaders who met this spring to develop a sales tax proposal. The commission wants 1/4-cent of the sales tax to fund public safety, including pay raises for police and firefighters and funding for police-fire retirement pensions. A half-cent of the proposed sales tax would sunset after 10 years. It would pay for projects under the city’s comprehensive plan, dubbed Forward SGF. They would include capital improvements to city facilities and community initiatives like neighborhood and park projects.

If voters do not adopt the proposed sales tax, Springfield budget officials warned back in April that the city’s general fund would lose $5.6 to $8.6 million dollars per year, requiring cuts to city budgets, services and jobs.

Gregory Holman is a KSMU reporter and editor focusing on public affairs.