After years of stating the county should restructure its entire tax system, this week the Platte County Commission issued a press release announcing it will form a committee -- led by a former county auditor — to study the county’s sales tax structure.
Commissioners announced the formation of the Platte County Sales Tax Structure Advisory Committee on Monday, Sept. 16. Former county auditor Sandra Thomas was named chair. Thomas served as county auditor from 1996-2006 and made an unsuccessful bid for state auditor in 2006. Since, she has worked in the private sector.
According to commissioner Dagmar Wood, the group will be made up of nine to 10 residents interested in the sustainability of the parks system and the safety of the public. Members will also be expected to dig into departmental budgets and review county finances.
The names of members of this commission-picked committee will be released within the next week. Meetings will be open to the public with select officeholders and department heads invited to present information to the advisory group as needed.
“I am looking forward to leading this team, speaking with county representatives, digging into the long-term budgets, and making recommendations that will set up our county for long-term success,” Thomas said.
Commissioners said with Platte County’s half-cent parks and stormwater tax sunsetting in a little more than 15 months, funding for the continued maintenance and operation of the County’s parks, stormwater, trails and community centers is on the table as are the long-term needs of the sheriff’s office, prosecutor’s office and courts.
“I’m very glad that our county has vested citizens interested in tackling this extremely important issue,” said presiding commissioner Ron Schieber. “The members of the citizen’s advisory committee are being finalized soon. They will be analyzing 10-year budgets from the parks department, sheriff’s department, prosecutor’s office and our courts as well as much needed stormwater funding to make a long-term tax structure recommendation. It makes sense to match a 10-year planning process with a 10-year tax structure recommendation.”
According to commissioner John Elliott, Platte County has a dedicated tax for roads and bridges and for parks and stormwater, but there is no dedicated funding source for law enforcement.
“They have always been funded out of general revenue,” Elliott said. “While we have made this work, rising violent crime and expenses and increasing personnel and healthcare costs have made this untenable.
“The continuing low-paying wages for law enforcement and prosecutor’s personnel has cost taxpayers in significant turnover and ongoing staff shortages, 20 openings at the present time. In addition, it is estimated that we will need to add an additional court within 10 years to keep pace with the increasing court cases in our county.”
At a recent meeting, sheriff Mark Owen said deputy starting salaries are $5,000 less annually than an assistant manager position at a local convenience store.
“Recruiting and then retaining quality personnel after we have invested significant man hours and resources into training them is tough on our bottom line and on morale when we see them leave for other agencies,” Owen said.
In the press release, prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd said when he started as prosecutor 16 years ago, murders were rare.
“Today, we have a half-dozen murder defendants awaiting trial,” Zahnd said. “A decade ago, we filed about 350 felonies a year; in 2018, we filed more than 650. As more people move to Platte County and adjoining counties, the number of crimes we prosecute has increased but, more troubling, the violence associated with the cases has increased markedly.”