Joplin City Council Mulls Revenue Options
In an effort to bring further revenue options for the city, namely to fund police and fire department wage increases, the Joplin City Council heard a revenue report from the finance committee at a special work session Monday night. Some of those options are listed below:
The Use Tax would bring an estimated revenue of $1.2 million to the city. The Finance Committee says the positive aspects include that it mirrors sales tax as to how funds can be used. It does require voter approval and recently failed in the city of Joplin when presented to voters on the August ballot.
The City Fire Protection District only serves one department but at 1/4% would raise $3.37 million. The committee says if the tax is used and other funding sources for the fire department are reduced, it could have implications down the road. Councilwoman Diane Reid-Adams says this would be a “no-brainer” to pursue as an option.
A 1/2% General Sales Tax would generate $6.74 million and a portion of sales taxes are paid by non-residents who use city resources. They could be utilized for any need of the city and could be designated for specified purposes similar to existing sales tax designations for public safety. The committee does say that the city needs to address pension plan issues and sales taxes can be considered aggressive. The tax is also an addition as the city is already very dependent upon sales tax which can vary in economic slowdowns.
The General Real Estate Property Tax for Municipal Purposes could bring up to $4.7 million depending on assessment amount. The city currently has a .1717 assessment. The Committee says it would diversify the city’s revenue sources and is viewed as more stable than other options.
Personal Property Tax could bring in $2 million and is considered a more stable revenue source as it does not fluctuate as much in a recession. The committee also says that Joplin’s real estate property tax is lower than other cities at just 0.1794%. For example, Carthage’s rate is 0.5864% and Lamar’s rate is 0.9939%. However, Joplin does charge a library real estate property tax of 0.2545%.
All of these options do require voter approval. While Council does want to get things moving, further steps will take months so a measure on the next ballot looks unlikely. But Council agreed to discuss the ballot language at their first meeting in December to see if they can meet the January 22nd deadline to get it on the April ballot.
A Total Sales Tax Breakdown shows that Joplin is currently in the middle of the road standpoint compared to other cities in the four-states area. Joplin in Jasper County sits at 8.075%. Lamar and Nevada sit at the low end at 7.725% while Baxter Springs, Kansas sits at the high end at 10%.
City Manager Sam Anselm says the political climate may make it difficult to pass any type of tax. “When you look at it from a holistic perspective, there are a lot of issues that we have internally that maybe one specific tax doesn’t necessarily address. We had a lot of good discussion tonight just about the information that the finance committee put together with regard to what type of revenue options are available.”