Greene County is in financial trouble, and it wants the support of the city of Springfield. That’s the message Greene County Administrator Tim Smith delivered at last night’s Springfield City Council meeting along with Greene County Commissioner Harold Bengsch, when they asked council members to back a proposed use tax slated for the November ballot.
The presentation requires no action by council. Springfield Director of Public Information and Civic Engagement Cora Scott could not be reached for comment this morning on whether city officials plan to introduce a resolution of support ahead of the Nov. 5 vote.
Smith gave a presentation at the end of the city manager’s report that showed 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.
On Nov. 5, voters in the county will decide whether to approve a 1.25 percent use tax that 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 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.
Smith noted SRC Holdings Corp. CEO Jack Stack, and his open-book management program the Great Game of Business, 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 and Smith referenced in the meeting, the businessman said county 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. Greene County associates accepted our help. 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,” Stack said in the video. “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 possibly stretch them."
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