Fulton voters passed a proposed city use tax during Tuesday's election after previously rejecting it during the 2018 election.
Of 1,208 votes cast, 643 (55.6 percent) were in favor and 514 were opposed.
Fulton will now impose a local use tax on purchases made out of state by Fulton residents at the same rate as the current local sales tax (2.5 percent). The first $200,000 in annual revenue will be dedicated for police and fire capital expenditures.
Missouri and Callaway County already have use taxes in place, at 4.225 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Up to $2,000 in purchases per person per year will be exempt. According to the Fulton City Council, many Fulton residents will never meet that $2,000 threshold.
The use tax was but one of several questions and propositions appearing on the ballot. Results and statistics cited below are from the final unofficial results released Tuesday evening by the Callaway County Clerk's office.
Fulton City Council
Familiar faces will continue to fill the Fulton City Council following Tuesday's election - with a notable exception.
In Ward 4, the only opposed race, Bob Washington unseated 35-year council veteran Steve Moore. Unofficial results show Washington received 217 votes (74 percent) to Moore's 76 (25.9 percent). There was a single write-in vote.
"I'm pretty excited. I had great support from my family. I think that's pretty awesome," Washington said. "The community, those in my ward, delivered me a victory, and I'm grateful."
He offered gratitude to Moore for his many years serving the ward.
"Most of my life in Fulton has been in the Fourth Ward, and I've been voting for him basically all those years," Washington said.
Washington is the pastor of Fulton Church Of God In Christ in Fulton. Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, he received a physical education degree from Ottawa University. Upon moving to Fulton, he was employed to teach at the Missouri School for the Deaf, where he remained for 32 years.
He listed housing and retaining the Fulton Medical Center as two of his top concerns.
Moore said he's sure Washington will do an excellent job filling the position.
"You can't win every election," he said Tuesday. "It's been a wonderful 35 years. I've learned a lot, worked with some wonderful people."
Moore extended thanks to the constituents who voted for him for so many years.
Candidates for the other three wards ran unopposed. Ward 1's Ballard Simmons was re-elected for his second two-year term in office with 334 votes; eight people cast write-in votes. Ward 2's Mary Rehklau, who's served in the office since 2010, was re-elected with 116 votes; four cast write-in votes. Ward 3's John Braun is also returning for a second term with 271 votes; four write-in votes were cast in that race as well.