On Aug. 4, 2009, St. Robert residents will be asked to go to the polls to make their voices heard on an initiative to implement a ¼-cent sales tax to be used solely for the purpose of supporting public park improvements. The City Council voted May 4, 2009, to repeal the personal property tax contingent on the passage of the sales tax initiative.
If the sales tax initiative passes on Aug. 4, the city personal property tax will be repealed effective Jan. 1, 2010, and the first planned improvement to be made with this new funding will be the construction of the new outdoor aquatic facility beginning in Oct. 2009.
The following is a sample of what the language will look like on the Aug. 4, 2009, ballot issue:
“Shall the City of St. Robert, Missouri, be authorized to impose a sales tax of 1/4 of 1 percent for the purpose of providing funds to acquire, construct, improve, furnish and equip local park facilities, including without limitation, an aquatic center?”
In essence, if the ballot issue passes Aug. 4, everyone who makes retail purchases in the City of St. Robert will only pay an additional 25 cents of sales tax per $100 of purchases. Secondly, the residents of St. Robert will no longer pay City personal property tax effective Jan. 1, 2010.
With the money generated from the retail sales tax proposal, the City will be able to make major improvements to our parks system and improve the quality of life of the citizens. The potential improvements include construction of a new outdoor aquatic facility with a community building, indoor pool, multi-purpose community room, concession area and bath house; a future community center with a storm shelter; athletic facilities such as soccer fields, little league and tee-ball baseball fields; a golfing driving range; and remodeling the current Community Center into a youth and senior citizen activity center.
These are just a few of the things we would like to do in response to citizen’s comments and requests, but we need your help to make these enhancements become a reality. With your help this is just the beginning of what we as a City can do to provide quality parks and recreation to meet the needs of our community.
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