Sales tax levies were among the various ballot items before voters Tuesday. KSMU’s Theresa Bettmann reports on results in Taney and Christian counties.
http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/branson-tourism-tax-approved-nixa-sales-tax-fails-four-votes_81663.mp3
Branson residents voted to keep the one percent retail sales tax, which provides money to market the area as a tourist destination. Garrett Anderson, the economic director for the City of Branson, says the city does not collect the tax but it is important for the overall economy.
“That tax is the primary funding for the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s nationwide marketing as Branson as a community. That one source takes up about 75 percent of the marketing budget that they spend each year. Another approximately 20 percent comes from the City of Branson. So without that tax renewal that would be a severe blow for ability for the Branson Chamber of Commerce to reach out and create awareness for Branson nationwide,” Anderson says.
Nixa’s ½ cent sales tax was defeated by only a handful of votes. Jill Finney, communications director for the City of Nixa, explains that the Capital Improvement sales tax was proposed to generate $7.7 million to pay for parks, improvements to the intersection at highway 14 and 160, as well as 4 ½ miles of sidewalks.
“Because it was a bond issue, because we would have to borrow bond money, it had to have a super majority. This meant it [the vote] had to have 57.14 percent of ‘yes’ votes. The unofficial results polled said 56.98 percent of ‘yes’ votes. Literally that comes down that it was defeated by four votes,” says Finney.
All of these things are still on the radar, Finney says. She explains intersection improvements at 14 and 160 will still happen because of a 50/50 cost share with MoDOT. She adds that the money will now have to come from future transportation funding that will put other projects on hold for around five to 10 years.
“I am just really talking to people today about every vote does count. We’re very happy about the voter turnout. But I want citizens to know that no matter what the issue, no matter how they feel about an issue, it’s very important to vote. Things can be decided by literally four votes,” Finney says.
Finney says they are also looking into the option of requesting a ballot recount, adding the request for recount cannot be made until the election is certified.
Elsewhere throughout the region, voters in Springfield renewed the city’s police-fire pension tax, which will bring the pension plan to full funding in future years.
The City of West Plains is now a Charter City. By a nearly four-to-one vote Tuesday, citizens there ushered in a new form of government that allows its city to exercise full rights as a municipality under Missouri law. This means the city will move from its former, third-class status commission form of government to a charter municipality. The charter status does not affect taxes. Now, only the municipality of Monett is without charter rule in Missouri.
Voters in Monett on Tuesday approved both a rural fire district levy and water and sewer bond, Lebanon and Mt. Vernon citizens favored a special road district levy, Joplin voters said no to curbside recycling, and a new aquatics facility was approved for Webb City.
