KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. On Tuesday, she asked Liberty neighbors what questions they have about the 1% Public Safety Sales Tax — and got the answers from city officials. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Missouri Street in downtown Liberty will soon look very different after voters approved a Public Safety Sales Tax in April. KSHB's Fernanda Silva asked neighbors what questions they have about the 1% tax and how it will transform their community.
What the tax funds
Mama + Me Boutique owner Elise Bretz had multiple questions about the tax: "Where is the money going to once it's collected? What is the 1% being used for?"
The answer came directly from Liberty city officials.
Finance Director Vicki McClure explained the tax is "a 1% sales tax, it's a general sales tax that is solely dedicated to public safety."
The tax is projected to generate $7.5 million annually, with $6 million going toward competitive salaries and benefits for police officers and firefighters, and $1.5 million annually for debt service on 20-year bonds to fund the police station renovation and expansion.
Deputy Chief Matt Kellogg said the primary use will be "a new police station, which is going to triple the size of our current one."
"There's no sunset"
Unlike many municipal taxes, this one has no expiration date.
"That's going to be ongoing," McClure said. "There's no sunset for this sales tax, so it'll be ongoing forever."
The tax increases Liberty's total sales tax rate to 9.85% on all purchases made in the city.
Here's why Liberty needs a new police station
Deputy Chief Kellogg showed me around the department's current facility, which was built in 1982. The building was for a department one-third the size of today's force of 49 commissioned officers.
"We need much more space than this," Kellogg said, pointing to cramped storage areas packed with records. "Obviously, you can see it's kind of crowded."
He says the current 10,000 square feet facility will expand to approximately 30,000 square feet, growing both south and east into Missouri Street.
"We've outgrown it," Kellogg said. "There's lots of new technology, lots of new space and ideas that the architects have brought forward that will make our department much more efficient."
The expansion will include training space, prisoner facilities, secure evidence storage, and safe spaces for crime victims to report incidents.
Downtown changes coming
The construction will alter downtown Liberty's landscape.
"Construction of the new station is going to really change the way the downtown looks," Kellogg said. "We're going to end up building out into one of the main streets through downtown. So that street will be closed off."
Missouri Street, which currently runs alongside the building, will be closed. Kellogg says one of the streets a block over will become a two-way street, instead of one-way street, to maintain parking lot access.
"Things around downtown will be a bit different than they are used to for 150 years," Kellogg said.
Competitive pay to attract officers
The estimated annual $7.5 million in funding will help address staffing challenges through competitive compensation.
Resident Cindy Smith wanted to know if the tax "is what's paying for the increase that we read about that starts on January 1st for the police."
The answer is yes. Starting January 1, officers can begin their jobs at seventy thousand dollars a year and reach Ninety-seven thousand dollars a year after 10 years of service, according to Kellogg.
"There's a significant increase to make Liberty one of the higher-paid departments in the metro," Kellogg said. "All the departments are fighting for the same candidates. We're just trying to be the most attractive to them."
Tax timeline and implementation
Resident Carrie White asked multiple questions about timing: "When we'll see the 1% tax? When are we going to see the results of it?"
McClure confirmed the tax "went into effect October 1st" and appears in the City of Liberty's tax line on receipts. However, "we won't be starting to see our larger deposits until beginning of 2026."
The holiday shopping season is already boosting collections, McClure noted, as "people are in the holiday spirit, so they're out doing more shopping."
Construction timeline
Liberty police say construction will start in February 2026, with the department moving to a temporary location during the 15 to 18-month construction period.
"We're hoping by late 2027 we'll be in the new building," Kellogg said.
The deputy chief expressed relief after years of trying to secure funding: "It was a relief to finally see that actually coming to fruition."
Community response
The tax increase has generated mixed reactions. Smith noted that clients "ask us why our taxes are so high."
"We tell them we voted it in," Smith said.
KC resident Nelson Former questioned whether "the money going to go to a good cause" and if "it's going to be worth our time, our money for the changes that's going to happen."
After learning about the plans, Former concluded: "I'd say that's a good cause."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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