Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
After delaying a vote earlier this month, holding hours of discussion and hearing concerns from several residents, the Columbia City Council unanimously approved placing a proposed 1% sales tax for public safety on the August ballot.
Monday marked the City Council’s final opportunity to approve the proposal in time for the August ballot after council members voted 4-3 on May 4 to table the issue. The council ultimately approved the measure Monday night following more than an hour of discussion that included presentations from Columbia Police Chief Jill Schlude, Columbia Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer and Chief Financial Officer Matthew Lue.
With the council’s approval, voters will now see this question on the August ballot:
“Shall the municipality of Columbia, Missouri impose an additional citywide sales tax at a rate of one percent, solely for the purpose of providing revenues to improve public safety for the city, which shall be limited to expenditures on equipment, salaries and benefits, and facilities for police and fire departments?”
If approved, the ordinance would add a 1% general sales tax, with the revenue generated going solely to the Columbia Police Department and Columbia Fire Department.
According to Monday’s council memo, the city estimates that the 1% sales and use tax dedicated to public safety will produce $38 million in revenue.
But Schaeffer said that with the proposal now approved by the council, the hard work begins: convincing voters to support it in August. Both CPD and CFD say that they plan on launching an educational campaign to help show voters how the money would be used.
“Now, the real work starts. We have an educational campaign where we have to go out and engage with the public and help them understand the real tangible benefits of their hard-earned money into making Columbia a safer community,” Schaffer told ABC 17 News. “We got here because we fell behind, horribly behind by not increasing public safety staff staffing in accordance with the growth of the city. So we need to have that wiggle room so we can go, okay, how much did we grow this year? How much more capacity do we need? We’ve never had that approach in this city, and that is vital to staying caught up with us. “
The goal of the ordinance is to help both departments increase staffing, cover facility upgrades, and buy new equipment. Specific priorities listed by the city under the proposed sales tax include:
Increase CPD staffing to 50 officers over four years
Increase CFD staffing to 40 firefighters over four years
Build a new Police Facility
Purchase new police vehicles and equipment
Build two new fire stations with apparatus
Renovate three current fire stations
Develop a police and fire technology plan
Maintain competitive wages
Schulde says that the most glaring need is staffing.
“We’ve got to get some relief for our folks. We’ve got to get to a sufficient number of people, resources to respond to the things we’re being asked to respond to in a city of this size. And as some of the council members alluded to, this isn’t a problem that just started a year or two years ago.It’s compounded over well over 20 years. And so now we’re trying to dig out of that hole and hopefully stay out of it with this type of funding,” Schulde said.
Schlude added that the additional revenue would help both departments keep pace, saying the city has relied on reserve funds in recent years, a strategy she said is not sustainable as officials work to address current staffing and infrastructure needs. However, Schulde acknowledged that convincing voters to pay more in taxes is going to be a tough challenge.
“Our building is old. He’s [Schaffer’s] got fire stations sinking into the ground. Just really making that very real for people and helping them to understand that this need isn’t going to stop,” Schulde said.
“We have a unique, really unique system here in Columbia because the city government does so much, “ Schaffer added. “We have a train bus system. We run our own utility. That isn’t normal for a majority of the Midwest. We’ve taken on a lot, and it’s put a lot of pressure on our general fund. So we need to have solutions like that.”
CPD also said that they have had difficulties getting some of the modern technology they need, which is why Schulde said part of the funds would go toward a technology plan.
“Look at things like the flock program, other safety programs I’ve been very open about. I think we need to look at drones as first responders. It’s another huge safety and workforce multiplier. All those things cost money and up to now, every time something new comes out that we feel could help not only the officers or the firefighters but the community, we have to come with our hand out to the council and they have to make these really hard decisions about where that money’s going to come from,” Schulde told ABC 17 News. “Frankly, sometimes it’s coming while the time has come from reserves. So having a dedicated funding source to help keep up with those technology assets is so important because I don’t think it’s technology’s not going to stop in our profession.”
The current sales tax rate for Columbia sits at nearly 8% (7.975%), with 4.2% coming from the state, 2% from the city, and 1.75% from Boone County. The 2% from the City of Columbia currently includes a 1% general sales tax, 0.5% transportation sales tax, 0.25% capital improvement sales tax and 0.25% park sales tax.
Council Votes To Pause Potential Data Center Projects, Prohibit Gaming Machines
The city council also approved an ordinance that will pause the acceptance and processing of permits for new or expanding data center projects for one year.
The proposal follows an April decision to create a new zoning definition for data centers and classify them as a conditional use in the General Industrial district. The move requires Planning and Zoning Commission review and final approval by the council.
According to city staff, the temporary delay will give the city time to develop additional use-specific standards and clearer evaluation criteria for data center proposals. Officials have raised concerns about the potential impacts of data centers, including heavy demands on electrical and water infrastructure and possible effects on surrounding land uses that may require additional buffering or screening.
Staff initially recommended a six-month pause but now suggest a one-year delay, citing the need for community engagement and a full regulatory review process.
A similar ordinance was passed in Camdenton earlier this month.
The city council also voted unanimously to add an ordinance prohibiting electronic gaming machines in city limits. Council members moved ahead with the approval, while recognizing it essentially duplicates a statewide ban on the machines. At Monday’s meeting, Schlude said of all the businesses officers have visited, machines had either been removed or were still there but not powered on. The ordinance says a violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.
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