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The City of Raytown has a question on the Aug. 5 special election ballot.
Raytown is asking voters if a parks and storm water sales tax that has been in place since 2003 should be renewed, this time at 1/4 cent instead of the current 1/8 cent sales tax. The current sales tax sunsets in March 2026.
If passed, 80% of the money generated from the tax would go toward the parks department funding and 20% toward stormwater. The city estimates that is around $724,000 annually for parks and $240,000 for stormwater.
As a sales tax, it is paid by anyone purchasing goods within city limits, not just Raytown residents.
"Anybody that's shopping in Raytown, whether they're from out of town, whether they're from Lee's Summit, coming through. So we have about 60,000 cars that come through just down 350 Highway," Raytown Mayor Mike McDonough said. "A lot of people from out of our town stop to get gas, buy coffee, donuts, things like that. That all adds up. And so everybody will be paying this tax."
The city has already identified projects that would benefit from the tax renewal. It has an estimated $20 million of stormwater improvements. At the parks, Kenagy's pond wall needs around $850,000 of repairs done and at Sarah Colman-Livengood Park, the playground and shelter need an estimated $1.1 million in repairs. The tennis and pickleball courts at Southwood also need to be resurfaced.
McDonough said the reason for asking for an increase to the sales tax rate is due to rising costs everywhere else, like staffing. However, the mayor believes good parks pay for themselves.
“You bring the younger folks here, and you bring — this is a city of all ages — you bring these people in here, even if they're not residents, and they're using our parks, they're going to be buying stuff in our city, which enhances our revenue without raising the taxes overall," the mayor said.
The city said a $10 purchase would come with a 2.5-cent tax. Likewise, a $100 purchase would total a 25-cent tax added on.
The special election is Tuesday, Aug. 5.
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