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Special taxing district dissolving after doing nothing

Cass Co. district was for better hospital access
Posted at 6:33 PM, Dec 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-12 19:33:19-05

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. — A special Cass County tax was supposed to raise enough money to improve roads and access to the local hospital.

But it never did.

Now that special taxing district is being dissolved with nothing to show for it. 

People shopping in the special taxing district have been paying an extra one percent sales tax for the last several years.

But it turns out the money collected has only been able to cover administrative and legal costs.

The idea was to raise enough money to build an interchange along the Interstate 49 corridor to make the local hospital more accessible.

Upgrading frontage roads and bridge construction was also part of the plan.

A meeting was held Tuesday afternoon to start dissolving the special taxing district.

According to a recent audit by Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the taxing district from January to end of September was only able to collect $2,194 in taxes.

Harrisonville Mayor Brian Hasek is one of three members of the special taxing district board pushing to dissolve it.

"It was kind of a vision that there would be more growth and development out there, I like to term it the cart before the horse approach to things," he said.

But instead of new businesses opening in the district to pay the tax, he says the only current business paying it is the hospital pharmacy.

Before he was elected mayor, Hasek says he was against the taxing district.

"I actually spoke at the board meeting when this was passed and kind of objected to the city being involved in it in any way because I didn't think it was going to be a successful taxing district and it clearly has not been," Hasek said.

Because the taxing district wasn't able to raise very much money, Cass County and Harrisonville taxpayers had to cough up again to cover legal expenses for the taxing district.

The county and city each contributed $12,500 for that purpose.

The special tax is still currently in place.

The next step will be for property owners in the taxing district to vote to dissolve it. If they do, then the taxing district board can vote to stop the tax.

It was originally supposed to be collected for 50 years.