The residents of Warren County soundly voted against a variety of sales tax increases on the ballot for the April 7 election.
On the ballot were three proposed one-cent sales tax increases for the Warrenton Fire Protection District, Wright City Fire Protection District and the Warren County Ambulance District.
Warrenton’s proposal, named Proposition F, failed with 428 yes votes (20.19%) to 1,692 no votes (79.81%). Wright City’s proposal, named Proposition S, failed with only 414 yes votes (33.96%) to 805 no votes (66.04%). The Warren County Ambulance District’s proposal, named Proposition EMS, failed with only 891 yes votes (26.18%) to 2,513 no votes (73.82%).
The three entities had proposed the ballot propositions due to concerns at the state level regarding the possible reduction or elimination of property taxes.
The agencies joined other entities around the state in the movement to incorporate sales tax into the way districts collect property taxes. The movement was supported by local union officials.
All three districts rely heavily on property tax revenues and each district said one of the reasons for the proposal was to diversify their pool of resources.
Had the proposals passed, the Warrenton Fire District would have received an additional $1.6 million in revenues, with Wright City Fire receiving approximately $1.2 million in additional revenues. The ambulance district would have received approximately $3.2 million. Each entity would have had to roll back their current tax rates so they would have received only about 50 percent of the estimated revenues.
In a relatively close vote, county residents approved the Warren County Senate Bill 3 tax credit by a vote of 2,090 yes votes (52.70%) to 1,876 no votes (47.30%).
