With a public vote just a few days away, a public forum was held Thursday night on whether the countywide capital improvements sales tax in Cole County should be renewed for another five years.
Ed Williams, who on Tuesday announced he would run again as a Democrat for the Eastern District Commission seat, organized the forum. Cole County Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle spoke as a representative of those in favor of the extension.
A crowd of about two dozen people were in attendance for the event held in the classroom area of the Cole County Sheriff's Department.
If approved on April 5, countywide Proposition A is estimated to generate $31 million. Cole County is currently in its sixth installment of the sales tax.
The breakdown of that money has 85 percent of the funds used for road and bridge projects, while the remaining 15 percent would be used for facility and equipment improvements within the county.
Among the reasons Williams is against the proposal is his belief the smaller communities in the county shouldn't each get $100,000 for projects. Instead, he believes the money should be given based on need, since some communities are bigger than others.
"We need more specifics on what the money will be used for," he said. "Instead of focusing on what has been done in the past 30 years with this tax, there should be more focus on what could be done in the next five years."
Scheperle counted that "$100,000 is a drop in the bucket. It can cost $20,000 alone to do asphalt work, so it adds up quickly."
Williams said he believes better budgeting by the County Commission could provide as much money as the tax extension would generate. He said those funds could be used for road repairs, as well as repairs at county facilities.
One area targeted for cuts by Williams and some in attendance was the giving of funds to nonprofit agencies.
For many years, the county commission has approved funds for agencies through contracts, citing the state statute, dating to 1909, on county health and welfare programs.
"When you give $10,000 to Habitat for Humanity and thousands more to other groups, those are items that add up to real money," Williams said.
Scheperle has voted against giving money to many of these agencies, saying he didn't think it was the government's role to use tax dollars to fund these groups. Despite that, he said, the savings just by cutting those out completely wouldn't bring the funds they need like the sales tax would.
"If you have a home, you want to take care of it," Scheperle said. "The sales tax let's us keep our infrastructure to where it should be. If we didn't have it, if we let it sunset, then it will cost us even more in the future to get it back to where it should be."
Williams believes a sales tax hurts the average resident more because people don't know they are being taxed. He feels there should be more reliance on property taxes, which would have businesses and large property owners paying more.
"I want to grow, but I don't want us to get like Columbia," he said. "If that is what they are pushing for, then we can do without it."
Scheperle said: "I want a place where my family can grow, and this tax allows us give our communities safe and dependable roads."