Kirksville council votes to place 3.8¢ sales-tax question on April ballot to fund capital projects

The Kirksville City Council voted Monday to place a proposed 3.8¢ general sales tax measure on the April 8, 2025 municipal ballot to fund capital building projects and retire related obligations.

City staff presented the ordinance and its proposed ballot language before the council. "We are asking the council to consider placing a ballot measure on the April 8th ballot for the citizens to consider," Mary Macomber said, adding that the ballot language specifies uses and that the tax would run for 20 years unless projects are paid off sooner.

The measure would fund multiple purpose-built facilities that staff and council described as priorities, including a second fire station and a new police station; city staff said the package also includes a replacement or overhaul of City Hall. Supporters on the council said the proposal aims to capture construction costs in present dollars and avoid higher costs later.

Council debate focused on scope, cost and timing. One council member said the projects include critical public-safety components but criticized the package's total cost and recent budget changes. "I will be voting no on this ballot measure in its current form," Council member Kabir said, citing a July 2024 estimate of about $27,200,000 and a later five-month increase of roughly 31.9 percentan uptick the speaker said equals about $4,700,000, of which roughly $3,400,000 was described as increased construction costs and about $800,000 in design and engineering.

Citizens speaking during the public-comment period urged improvements to public-safety facilities. "Police station, they need it long time ago," Maggie Snider told the council.

After discussion the council approved the ordinance on first reading and later approved it on second reading, both by voice vote. The city clerk read the ordinance twice; the ordinance directs that the question appear on the April 8, 2025 ballot and cites sections 144.010 to 144.525 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri as the tax authority. Vote tallies were recorded as voice votes and were not specified in the record.

City staff said that if the council places the measure on the ballot, staff will begin an educational campaign to explain the projects and estimated tax impact to voters. Several council members asked staff to include clear estimates of the proposed tax'impact on basic goods and services as part of that outreach.

What happens next: With council approval on second reading, the measure will appear on the April 8 ballot. If voters approve it, tax collections would begin under the terms shown on the ballot and funds would be used for the capital projects described in the ordinance; the ordinance specifies a 20-year maximum term but allows earlier termination if sufficient revenue becomes available to pay the obligations.

Votes and formal actions: The council approved ordinance bill 2025-1 to place the sales-tax question on the April 8, 2025 ballot on both first reading and second reading by voice vote; the record does not show a roll-call tally for either reading.