The City of Kearney is rolling out an initiative to educate residents about the Use Tax on the April ballot. Mayor Randy Pogue announced the proposition at the Board of Aldermen meeting on January 19.

Instead of raising taxes for residents, the City is asking residents to vote for the use tax. The use tax is not a double tax: residents will not pay the use tax in addition to the city’s sales tax. It is designed to be one or the other; never both, and will be the same rate as the sales tax. The use tax brings in tax dollars from the purchase of large ticket items over the internet or through the out-of-state sale of items like motor vehicles, boats, and trailers.

“There is a need for additional revenue to undertake many improvements of infrastructure identified over the courses of the last several years, as well as other capital improvements in the city of Kearney,” said Pogue on Kearney Live on January 20. “We have a lot of projects and issues that are not funded including a water repair in Shadowbrook, a major repair over off 12th Street Culvert, and many other repairs and sanitary sewer relining in Kearney Manor and Southbrook Subdivision.”

The Use tax could also generate funding that would be used to fund a debt financing, or a pay-as-you-go storm water project and other capital replacement projects the city has been unable to fund.

This issue is time sensitive because municipalities have until November of 2022 to receive voter approval for the continuation of the collection of the local sales tax for motor vehicles, trailers, boats and outboard motors purchased from private sellers or out-of-state dealers and then titled in Missouri.

Cities neighboring Kearney, including Excelsior Springs, Liberty, Gladstone, Smithville, Platte City and Kansas City all have a use tax to help pay for municipal projects. There are also over 160 other cities and counties around Missouri using a use tax.

Pogue sees the benefit of having a use tax to help with city infrastructure projects because sales from online, out-of-state vendors do not create local funds to help pay for city infrastructure: “With our changing retail buying habits, more than ever, a use tax can help broaden the City’s tax base, while creating a level playing field for our local merchants.”

More information about the use tax will be placed on the city’s website.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts Contributed to this Story