Monica Ritter, Lafayette County Northern Commissioner, made the following statement on her Facebook page last Wednesday regarding recent meetings with Special Road Districts to discuss the local use tax ballot issue.

“Over the last two days, we’ve had the opportunity to meet with the Corder Special Road District and the Higginsville Special Road District to present a proposed plan for sharing local use tax funds and to preview how the plan could affect budgets for both the county and the road districts.

Both districts were very understanding of the current situation and the changes we are seeing in consumer spending habits. As more purchases move from brick and mortar stores to online shopping, a portion of the revenue that historically came in as sales tax is now being collected as local use tax. These changes require us to rethink how those dollars are allocated so that both the county and the special road districts can continue to meet their responsibilities.

During our discussions, both districts shared that the plan, for lack of better words, was not as concerning as they had initially anticipated and that the numbers presented were within a range they felt comfortable with.

The proposed ballot language will also help the special road districts by allowing greater flexibility in how their local use tax dollars can be used. Instead of being limited primarily to materials such as gravel or chip seal, the funds could also be used for payroll, equipment purchases, equipment maintenance, and other operational expenses that are necessary to maintain county roads. This will allow special road districts to budget these funds in a way that better reflects the real costs of maintaining their road systems.

Over the next week, the County Commissioners will be dividing and conquering to meet with each of the remaining special road districts individually. Our goal is to present the same plan, gather their input, and discuss how it could affect their budgets moving forward. We believe the proposal will leave the special road districts with an equitable share of the local use tax revenue while also helping the county adjust its budget to match changing revenue streams.

We also have a meeting scheduled later this month with the city Mayor’s to continue these conversations and ensure the cities are aware of the discussions taking place.

Once we have had the opportunity to present the plan to all of the special road districts and cities, we will share the proposal so residents can review it as well. Transparency and collaboration remain a priority as we work toward solutions that support both the county and our special road districts.”