Platte County elected officials are looking ahead to the upcoming sunset date of the Platte County Roads Tax in 2023.
Late last month, the Platte City Board of Aldermen discussed supporting a renewal of the tax. The city’s economic development committee voted to support a renewal and the board of aldermen concurred, as Platte City and other municipalities benefit from the tax.
At the Monday, Feb. 7 meeting of the Platte County Commission, second district commissioner Joe Vanover announced commissioners will host a roundtable discussion of the possible renewal of the county-wide sales tax at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb 15.via video conference only.
“For nearly 20 years, Platte County has had a 3/8 cent sales tax dedicated to roads and bridges,” Vanover said. “In that time the county has replaced 38 bridges with another five bridges that are in the process of being replaced currently,”
Over the life of the roads sales tax, Platte County government has collected over $100 million, used it to pave roads, improve intersections and enable cities and road districts to complete numerous special projects.
“Platte County no longer has the looming and enormous expense of deteriorating bridges like we did 20 years ago,” Vanover said.
With the current roads sales tax set to expire in 2023, commission members have been discussing whether it should be presented to the voters yet again and if so, at what level. The county public works department has been evaluating the operations and maintenance costs of the roads and bridges for which the county government is responsible. The county public works department has been making plans for how spending may change if the roads sales tax were to expire or be renewed at a lower level.
“Last year I raised this issue at the Platte County Mayor’s Council meeting in June, at a board meeting of the Platte City Area Chamber of Commerce in July, at a board meeting of the Platte County Economic Development Council in the fall, and a meeting of the Platte County elected office holders late last year,” Vanover said.
Commissioner could put the renewal on the ballot this year in August or November.
Vanover said the meeting will allow the county to gather information from cities, road districts and the public.
The Platte County Commission is seeking input on whether the roads sales tax should be extended, at what level, and whether the formula used to distribute the funds should be changed. During the upcoming meeting, several public and quasi-public entities are expected to give presentations that discuss the impact of a renewal of the roads sales tax.
“We asked participants to talk about how areas of the county have benefited from the tax during the last 20 years, future road and bridge needs, with projected cost sharing opportunities and whether a county roads sales tax is needed considering the new Missouri gas tax, federal infrastructure spending, arterial street impact fees, and the ability of individual cities or road districts to fund roads with their own sales tax or property tax levy.”
The public will be able to provide comments as well during the video conference meeting.
“Whether Platte County needs to keep our roads sales tax is an important issue for all those who work to improve the future of our community,” Vanover said. “For the County Commission to make an informed decision, we need to hear from the people affected.”
To join the video conference, the public can find information on the county’s website, co.platte.mo.us, or contact Vanover or public works director Bob Heim.