Columbia outlines proposed public safety tax spending plan at first community forum
Euphenie Andre
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia held the first of six public forums Thursday night to explain how police and fire leaders would use a proposed 1% public safety sales tax that will appear on the city’s August ballot.
Leaders from both departments plan to visit each city ward throughout the month to answer residents questions about the proposal.
If approved by voters, the tax is expected to generate an estimated $38 million annually. The revenue would be dedicated exclusively to public safety, including hiring additional police officers and firefighters, purchasing equipment and vehicles, and improving public safety facilities.
The city released a proposed eight-year spending plan outlining how those funds would be invested.
The largest project in the proposed plan is a new over $35 million police headquarters.
the city plans to convert a city-owned building on Lemone Industrial Boulevard into a new police headquarters.
Police Chief Jill Schlude said the former IBM building offers a cost-effective alternative to constructing an entirely new facility.
“Fortunately, we have an alternative, which is to use an existing building the city already owns, which is the IBM building, not too far from us on Lemone, and the cost estimate for that project is somewhere between $36 and $40 million,” Schlude said.
According to the city, the current police headquarters was built in 1933 and no longer meets the department’s operational needs.
Replacing the headquarters has been under consideration for years. Schlude said the city completed a facility assessment in 2012, which estimated building a new downtown headquarters would cost about $60 million. She said that price would be significantly higher today.
Instead, city leaders said renovating an existing city-owned building could save taxpayers millions while still providing the space the department needs.
“The building is in fantastic shape, and we’ve already looked at changes we could make that would meet our needs. It actually checks all the boxes that we have,” Schlude said.
The proposed facility would provide the department with significantly more space and would also house the Columbia Police Academy.
Schlude said maintaining a police presence downtown would remain a priority, even if the department relocates its headquarters to the city’s south side.
If the headquarters moves to the former IBM building, Schlude said the current downtown facility would be repurposed as the Central City District station, allowing officers to continue serving the area.
“We wouldn’t abandon downtown,” Schlude said. “We would still have a patrol presence down there for those beat officers.”
Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the facility scheduled to open in 2029.
The city has previously invested in expanding public safety infrastructure. In 2021, funding from the 2015-25 Capital Improvement Sales Tax helped pay for the construction of the Molly Thomas Bowden Neighborhood Policing Center, which the city said provides additional public safety resources on Columbia’s north side.
Schlude said the department has identified additional improvements that could be made to the current downtown facility if voters approve the sales tax.
She said the building’s second floor has remained unfinished since it was constructed and could finally be completed using revenue from the proposed tax.
“The second floor was never completed. It’s roughed in, but there’s nothing up there right now,” Schlude said. “We would also be looking at how we could finish that space and utilize it.”
The department had originally planned to use the downtown building to house larger specialty vehicles, including the command post and SWAT vehicle. However, Schlude said those vehicles would instead be moved to the proposed south-side headquarters if the sales tax is approved.
She said the future of the current headquarters ultimately depends on voters’ decision in August.
The proposal also includes several fire station projects. In 2027, the city plans to renovate Fire Station No. 4 for an estimated $6 million, followed by a $6 million renovation of Fire Station No. 6 in 2028.
Fire Station No. 2 is slated for renovations in 2029. The long-term plan also includes building two new fire stations, one in 2032 and another in 2035, at an estimated cost of $8 million each.
Thursday’s meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Columbia Sports FieldHouse.
Check back for updates.