City Beat: County officials make pitch for use tax

Greene County officials visited City Hall on Oct. 7 to make their pitch for a county use tax that will be on the ballot in less than a month.

Greene County Administrator Tim Smith told council members county finances are in trouble and a financial fix would appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. The proposed 1.25 percent use tax would apply to purchases made online or by mail from places out of state, and for vehicles that are purchased outside of Missouri by county residents. Smith said the county’s general fund, which currently holds a balance of nearly $5 million, is expected to be $1 million in the red by 2017.

“The real shock for us when we looked ahead was the bottom line. We’re not going to be solvent in a few years. That was a very sobering day to all of us,” Smith said, addressing council along with Greene County Commissioner Harold Bengsch at the end of the city manager’s report.

Proponents say the tax would level the playing field for area businesses and shore up the county’s finances.

“Retail businesses are at a price disadvantage because most of what they sell is available out of state and online,” said Joe Jenkins, co-owner of Diesel Power Inc., who in August closed he and his wife’s furniture store Country Road Collection. “People (would) come in to our businesses, and in the case of my wife’s store – a home furnishing’s store – and get the manufacturer’s name, get the color sample and they can go out to Tulsa or Little Rock or order it online. This puts us at a great disadvantage.”

Jenkins asked council to support the county use tax.

“Local businesses provide jobs, pay sales taxes, pay property taxes and they also spend a significant amount of their budgets with other suppliers in the city,” he said.

Smith said the use tax would generate an estimated $3 million in annual county revenue and go a long way toward alleviating the financial cloud it’s under. The tax on vehicles would alone generate $880,000 per year, he said, adding the county’s sales tax rate would not change.

Using his open-book management program The Great Game of Business, SRC Holdings Corp. CEO Jack Stack has been helping the county identify possible solutions to a revenue crunch that has persisted since the onset of the recession.

In a YouTube video Stack produced for the county, the businessman said public officials are on top of their financial situation and doing what they can under the circumstances.

“Sixteen months ago, we went to them and asked if they needed help relative to their financial budget. We knew they were going through some really tough times and had made some tough choices,” Stack said in the video. “Greene County has experienced almost a $3 million reduction in revenues since the recession of ’09. The associates had taken a significant amount of hits. They have been on a wage freeze for the last five years. I really believe, as we’ve gone through this 16-month process, the associates have done everything they can to stretch things as far as they can.”

Springfield spokeswoman Cora Scott said council is not required to take formal action, and Mayor Bob Stephens said after the meeting he did not expect the city to introduce a resolution of support ahead of the November vote.

“That doesn’t mean that anyone on City Council can’t go into the community and speak in favor of it,” Stephens said, adding he planned to vote in favor of the tax.

Measures on hold
Votes were put on hold for a pair of bills to reduce parking space requirements for developers of student housing in designated areas around Missouri State University. Councilman Jerry Compton moved to table the matter until the city’s Community Involvement Committee could further review the proposals.

“Once we pass this, I think it could be hard to turn back, and I have real concerns about already crowded parking in that area,” Compton said.

An increase of center city student housing in recent years prompted city staff to recommend a reduction of parking requirements for certain projects.

According to Springfield Planning and Development Director Ralph Rognstad, developers of microefficiency apartments – units up to 400 square feet – have asked the city to allow one parking space per unit instead of the current 1.5-space requirement.

Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky said she was concerned a reduction in parking-space requirements could push student vehicles into nearby neighborhoods.

Also held back was a vote to approve up to $9.9 million in industrial revenue bonds to support redevelopment plans for Hotel Vandivort.

City spokeswoman Scott said developers Billy and John McQueary requested more time to develop their boutique hotel concept at the former Vandivort office building, 305 E. Walnut St.[[In-content Ad]]