County to consider sales tax for economic development

In the summer of 2007, Boone County Presiding Commissioner Ken Pearson formed a committee to consider the merits of renewing the half-cent sales tax for roads. The members included mayors and administrators from cities, towns and villages along with some regular citizens.

The committee recommended that the issue be put on the ballot in November, a month after the expiration. With an 81 percent “yes” vote, the tax was renewed.

In June, Pearson will get the group back together to consider the merits of another sales tax proposal.

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce asked the Boone County Commission earlier this month to consider the idea of asking voters to approve a new sales tax to pay for economic development initiatives. The Chamber’s resolution did not propose a specific amount of tax or an amount of revenue that would be needed.

The statute that allows a countywide sales tax of up to 0.5 cent for roads and economic development sets up a seven-member advisory board to evaluate projects and make recommendations to the County Commission.

“This is kind of in the formative stage,” Pearson said.

One argument advocates are making is that the sales tax would “replace” the 0.2 cent sales tax that helped pay for the renovation and expansion of the Boone County Courthouse complex. When it expires Oct. 1, the capital improvement sales tax for the courthouse project will have raised, during a three-year period, about $13 million – $1 million short of its target.

In the Chamber’s May newsletter, Chairman Larry Moore identified a series of deficiencies in local efforts to create, attract and retain jobs in Boone County. They included a lack of land ready for the swift location of industries, Regional Economic Development Inc.’s relatively small marketing budget ($89,000 annually) and not enough training for jobs that require specialized skills, including advanced technology.

The funds would be used to create shovel-ready sites and infrastructure to such sites, job training programs, marketing and “other economic development related efforts as deemed appropriate by the County Commission.”

“We recognize that there is never a good time to discuss local taxes,” Moore wrote. “But more importantly, we recognize that we are losing jobs in Boone County and that the economic impact of these job losses is being felt across our entire area. We see this as an investment in our future.”

Pearson and Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller agreed that it might seem counter-intuitive to propose a new tax during a recession, but both called the Chamber’s proposal “a good idea.”

“A downturn is when we really need to invest so we have a leg up on the competition,” Miller said. “The idea that it would be a countywide tax is very appealing because other cities and towns in the county (outside Columbia) are also working to broaden their economic bases.”

“We need to do what we think is necessary to help produce good jobs in the community,” Pearson said. “At a time when we’re trying to find out how to get the economy going and delivering a trained workforce, we need to make sure we have the tools in our toolbox to help us do that.”

Miller said that the committee that Pearson put together will be a good test of the proposal’s merits. “If it can get through the ad hoc committee, then you’ll know whether you’re on the right track.”