Columbia City Council works on public safety funding after voters approve 1% sales tax
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Voters approved a 1% public safety sales tax in Columbia’s Tuesday election, and now city leaders are working to determine how the new revenue will be incorporated into the city’s budget.
Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said 75 additional ballots were counted during Friday’s certification process. That includes two military and overseas ballots, 18 previously uncounted ballots and 55 provisional ballots.
Lennon said the final step before the election can be certified is a post-election test of the voting equipment, which is scheduled to be completed Monday.
The city expects the tax to generate about $38 million annually, with the money designated for public safety.
Ward 5 Council Member Christina Hartman said the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget does not yet include revenue from the newly approved sales tax.
The city’s budget is divided into five different fund types:
General Fund Enterprise Funds Internal Service Funds Special Revenue Funds Debt Service Funds
The General Fund is the city’s main source of flexible funding and pays for many of the everyday services residents rely on.
Hartman said the city plans to use some General Fund money to help establish the new public safety fund.
“They do plan to pull some of the General Fund to seed the public safety fund, to kind of keep it to establish the fund,” Hartman said. “Which is pretty typical for what they’ve done for all the other dedicated funds.”
The tax is expected to take effect in January, with the first round of revenue expected to come in March. The city will monitor the first three months of revenue to see whether collections are meeting expectations.
If the tax brings in less money than projected, Hartman said the city will have to reevaluate its expectations for the new public safety fund.
“If it doesn’t, then I think that means we just have to look at what our expectations of the fund will be,” Hartman said. “There’s really not room in the General Fund to increase that spending, so it really will have to come from that dedicated funding source.”
Zachary Privette, president of the Columbia Professional Firefighters Union, tells ABC 17 that the plan is to move about $60 million annually from the General Fund into public safety, in addition to the money expected from the new sales tax.
That raises questions about whether the city will continue funding police and fire through the General Fund at the same level in the future now that voters have approved a dedicated public safety tax.
Hartman said no final decision has been made.
Hartman said it is possible the city could decrease the amount of General Fund money going toward police and fire.
“I do think that it is possible because there’s not a stipulation in the law that says that they can’t decrease it,” Hartman said. “But it’s really up to the council and how the city staff brings, like, what their priorities are and the council.”
Transparency was one of the key priorities Hartman emphasized while campaigning for her current position.
Four months into office, she said she believes the city has been transparent with residents. However, she also wants the city to establish clear metrics to measure how the new tax affects the community.
Hartman said the city should monitor the impact of the tax on the local economy and residents who are paying it.
“We need to be responsible in making sure that as we’ve put this tax out there forever, that we’re actually taking measure of what is happening in our economy, what’s happening with the people that are paying for this, and making sure that it is something that is affordable for everyone,” Hartman said.
Hartman said council members are expected to work toward finalizing the remaining budget items at the city’s next meeting.
The city’s public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Aug. 17.
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