Raytown sales taxes would fund transportation and capital improvements

Raytown voters will be asked April 8 to renew two sales taxes that are near the end of their 10-year life spans.

One ballot question asks for renewal of a half-cent tax for transportation; the other is three-eighths-cent tax for capital improvements. Simple majorities are needed for approval.

The transportation tax funds such things as the bus line, curbs, street striping and installation of sidewalk ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2012 that tax brought in about $1 million.

The capital improvements tax pays for heavy equipment for public works and snow removal, code and animal enforcement and technology for the police department, among other things. That tax raised $888,554 in 2012.

Spending for the taxes is overseen by a citizen’s oversight committee of 10 people, including an at-large representative and members from each of the city’s five wards. Both proposals have been endorsed by the Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce.

This story was originally published March 31, 2014 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Raytown sales taxes would fund transportation and capital improvements."