Kansas City voters approve Questions 1 and 2

Northeast News
August 15, 2012

Kansas City voters overwhelmingly passed Questions 1 and 2 during the Aug. 7 primary election.

Question 1 passed by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent and Question 2 passed with a vote of 80 percent to 20 percent.

Question 1 will take effect in January and changes the way the Kansas City parks system, street maintenance and repairs are funded. Question 1 will eliminate several fees and taxes including: the traffic way maintenance tax, the park and boulevard maintenance tax, the boulevard front foot assessment tax and the annual vehicle fee of $12.50 to fund community centers. To replace those taxes a half-cent sales tax will be established.

“When it became apparent to us it was going to pass, we were pretty excited,” Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department Director Mark McHenry said.

Over the past four years, the Parks and Recreation Department budget has been cut each year, and the half-cent sales tax will help replenish some of the lost funding, McHenry said.

Establishing the sales tax creates a stable revenue source for enhancing the parks system’s services as well as creating a dedicated fund for street repair and maintenance. The tax will double the revenue of the street maintenance fund, bringing the total to about $20 million annually, and will generate an additional $3 million annually for the Parks and Recreation Department.

“It’s helping us get to where we’d like to be which is great,” McHenry said.

The additional revenue will enable the Parks and Recreation Department to conduct routine maintenance and upkeep of parks on a more frequent basis as well as offer extended community center hours. Parks and Recreation will also begin offering new programming at the city’s community centers. McHenry said the department will conduct surveys and engage the public on what new programming to offer.

Question 2 will allow the city to borrow $500 million in revenue bonds to address new federal mandates regarding the city’s current sewage and storm water system. The additional revenue will also allow the city to provide sanitary sewers to growing areas of Kansas City. Sewer rates are expected to increase by 15 percent for two years followed by 13 percent increases every year until 2020.

In other election news, Missouri voters passed the Missouri constitutional amendment which states that Missouri citizens have the right to express their religious beliefs without being infringed upon; that school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in schools; and that all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution.

Winners of the Missouri primary election include:

Attorney General
Chris Koster, Democrat

Dave Browning, Libertarian;

Ed Martin, Republican
Governor
Jay Nixon, Democrat;

Jim Higgins, Libertarian;

Dave Spence, Republican

Lt. Governor
Susan Montee Democrat;

Matthew Copple, Libertarian;

Peter Kinder, Republican
Secretary of State
Jason Kander, Democrat;

Cisse Spragins, Libertarian;

Shane Schoeller, Republican

Treasurer
Clint Zweifel, Democrat;