PLATTE CITY, Mo. — The three-person Platte County Commission voted Monday to not implement a 1/4-cent sales tax for children’s services.
The vote comes after Platte County voters passed the tax last month with 56% of the vote.
KSHB 41’s Charlie Keegan was at Monday morning’s commission meeting, where commissioners expressed concerns the tax would last forever and have little oversight.
“I represent all 112,000 people in this county, not just the 30% who voted for this," Scott Fricke, presiding commissioner, said of the 32,000 people who voted "yes" in November. "Frankly, generations of Platte County residents will be stuck with this tax. It’s a forever tax. Their votes will never be counted."
The tax would have funded youth mental health services in the county.
The debate over whether to implement the tax intensified last week as it became clear commissioners were considering options.
Platte County Commissioner Joe Vanover told KSHB 41’s Marlon Martinez last week he believed the ballot language gave commissioners the final say.
Synergy Services was part of the coalition that worked to generate support for the measure.
Dennis Meier, who serves as executive director of Synergy Services, said news that the commission was considering not implementing the tax made him feel like “votes don’t count.”
"We are not happy about it. This is a very sad day for the children in Platte County," Corky McCaffrey, of Synergy Services, said after the decision Monday afternoon.
University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor Allen Rostron previously told KSHB 41 he believed the ballot language indicated implementing the tax was “optional rather than mandatory.”
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“The way it's worded, I mean, on its face, I think it probably sounds like the county was supposed to have discretion over this,” Rostron said.
McCaffrey said it's possible Synergy Services and other supporters of the ballot measure mount a legal challenge to the commission's decision.
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KSHB 41 reporter Charlie Keegan covers politics in Kansas, Missouri and at the local level. Share your story idea with Charlie.
