Council to consider asking finance committee to review state tax proposal

The Joplin City Council on Monday will consider assigning its finance committee to assess and report on the impact a proposal to eliminate the state income tax and replace it with a sales tax would have on Joplin, which depends on sales tax revenue.

A resolution on the agenda, if approved, would tap the committee for that purpose. The resolution calls for the committee to begin a review of the state proposal and then prepare a report to be made to the council in late summer or early fall if the council approves the resolution.

Missouri voters will decide a ballot question in August on whether legislators should have the power to increase and expand the sales tax to take the place of the revenue that the state income tax would generate.

The proposal is a top priority of Gov. Mike Kehoe and has been approved by the General Assembly. Amendment 5, if approved this summer, would authorize legislators to apply sales taxes to transactions not currently taxed, with any new sales tax revenue tied to cuts in the top state income tax rate, currently 4.7%, according to the Missouri Independent. Lawmakers would have five years to redefine what is subject to sales tax.

The governor has said that repealing the income tax would bring more business and wealth to Missouri. Opponents say a sales tax would shift more of the tax burden on to lower income residents. Some business groups also have challenged the plan.

In other business, the council will be asked by City Attorney Peter Edwards and police Chief Richard Pearson to enact new language to expand the definition of harassment in a section of the city code.

The bill would repeal language that the city's legal team says is antiquated and replace it with language in line with a state misdemeanor violation. The current city offense defines harassment as occurring "in writing or by telephone."

If the council authorizes the change that would be more in line with state law, harassment would be defined as an act that causes emotional distress in person, by phone or in writing.

A midyear budget amendment is proposed by the finance department for council consideration.

Midyear budget changes are proposed, a staff memo states, to account for changes that have occurred since the annual budget was adopted.

The amendment would increase revenue by $318,441 and expenditures by $9,532,315.

Those changes would account for maintenance repairs and maintenance contracts that were needed since the budget was passed, amending the sales tax budgets, and to reflect a transfer of $918,750 to close out a 1717 Market Place taxing district and to close out a 32nd Street Place taxing district.

It would include changes to the Solid Waste and Infrastructure Fund budgets to reflect revenues from a grant for that fund and amend the Parks Department portion of the parks and stormwater sales tax for expenses to build the Ewert Splash Park in the amount of $6,002,520.

The formal meeting of the council is at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 602 S. Main St.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.