By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph – Buchanan County voters gave overwhelming approval to not one, but two tax issues this week, running counter to a reputation for voting against tax hikes.
St. Joseph City Council member Marty Novak says he wasn’t upset when Buchanan County decided to place its law enforcement sales tax proposal on the same ballot as the city parks sales tax proposal.
“I know the need that the sheriff’s department has,” Novak tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Novak says though the city decided to go to the August ballot first, he didn’t mind when Buchanan County made its decision, placing two tax issues before voters. Novak says he is friends with Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett and with all three members of the Buchanan County Commission. He says county officials apologized to him, but he suggested the city and county simply tell voters what the needs were and how they proposed to use the money.
“And they kind of said, well, we’re sorry this is on the ballot at the same time,” Novak says. “I said I don’t have a problem (with it). Let’s show the people what we’re going to give them and let the people decide. Ultimately, that’s what we’ve got to do. The people have to decide.”
Still the special election on Tuesday stood out for the mere fact that it presented voters two tax issues and nothing else; no other issues, no candidates. A stark ballot containing only two tax issues greeted most voters.
More than 71% of the voters who cast ballots on Tuesday supported the half-cent increase to the city sales tax to fund between $50 million and $60 million in improvements to the city parks system. More than 77% of the voters voted for the quarter-cent county law enforcement sales tax, which will increase the sheriff’s department budget by an estimated $3.6 million annually.
Novak explains that the city parks tax proposal grew out of talks about what to do with the Krug Park Amphitheatre. The council ultimately rejected a proposal to spend tens of millions to upgrade the amphitheater and, instead, looked to a broad range of projects which would make improvements to parks throughout the city. It would also bolster the parks maintenance budget.
Novak credits the parks tax victory to a campaign that outlined a need and stated plainly what would be done with the extra money.
“I think it was the same way with the tax issue for the sheriff’s department,” Novak says. “Hey, this is what’s needed. We’re not able to keep our deputies. So, here is what we can do to try to make things better and I think people heard that and they accepted that message and that’s how they voted.”
Novak says the victories during the special election Tuesday prove that a straightforward approach can prove successful for a tax increase campaign.
“Here’s how we’re going to pay for it. In the case of the parks tax, 10 years, this is what we’re asking and here’s where we can be in 10 years,” Novak explains. “I think that made a lot of sense to people. It wasn’t, as you say, pie in the sky. It was something that was really attainable and the people saw it that way.”