By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Two sales tax increase proposals pass with overwhelming support as St. Joseph voters approved a half-cent parks sales tax and Buchanan County voters approved a quarter-cent law enforcement sales tax in this special election.
Buchanan County voters overwhelmingly supported the increase in the law enforcement sales tax, which Sheriff Bill Puett promised would be spent to increase deputy salaries and add law enforcement officers to the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department staff. More than 77% of Buchanan County voters cast ballots in favor of the law enforcement sales tax, with 6,653 voting in favor of it and only 1,925 voting against in the unofficial results released by the Buchanan County Clerk’s office.
St. Joseph city voters gave similar support to the half-cent sales tax to make broad improvements to the city parks system, including upgrades to Krug Park, Hyde Park, the Bode Sports Complex, and the Civic Arena. Slightly more than 71% of the voters cast ballots in favor of the issue with 5,378 casting “yes” votes and 2,183 voting against.
Voter turnout exceeded the expectations of Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey, who predicted a 10% turnout in an election which featured only two sales tax issues and no candidates. Slightly more than 8,600 ballots were cast in the election; a 16.9% turnout.
Click here for the election results.