Tuesday, April 5, is election day for local city governments, school boards, and emergency service districts. Polls will open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. for registered voters to make their selections for a number of elected offices that have competitive races.

For information about where to vote, contact the Warren County Clerk’s Office by calling 636-456-3331.

A short introduction and profile information for electoral candidates in competitive races can be found at this link. There are competitive elections across Warren County this year, including for positions that rarely receive challenger candidates.

The highest-interest elections this year are crowded races for school board seats representing the Warren County R-III and Wright City R-II school districts.

Also in the Warrenton area, there is a three-way race for a seat on the board of alderman representing Ward 3. Two other seats on the board are uncontested.

Voters in the rural area around Pendleton and Warrenton also have a contested race for their representative to the Warren County Ambulance District Board of Directors.

In Truesdale, three people are running for two seats on the city’s board of aldermen.

In the Wright City region, the school board race is the only competition for elected offices. Two aldermen and the mayor of Wright City are all unopposed for re-election.

Toward the southern end of Warren County, rural voters have two elections to think about that normally go uncontested. Two people are running to represent the southern half of the county on the Emergency Services Board, which manages the independent 911 Dispatch Center.

Another race specifically in the Dutzow area has two people competing for a board of directors position for the Marthasville Community Ambulance District.

And in the city of Marthasville itself, three people are on the ballot running for West Ward alderman. The East Ward alderman position is uncontested.

Bond to build high school

Voters in the Wright City R-II School District have two other major ballot issues to consider, both related to funding for construction of a new high school and other building improvements.

Proposition 1967 is a bond issue that proposes to borrow $37 million in bond funding, which would be paid back using the district’s existing property tax for debt repayment.

Bonds are a type of promissory note, an IOU which a district promises to pay back using tax revenue or other funding. Notably, voting to approve a bond issue typically grants a district permission to raise or lower taxes to whatever level necessary to make scheduled debt payments.

However, the Wright City School District has been freeing up its existing revenue by paying off previous bond projects, and therefore anticipates zero tax increase from Prop 1967.

Proposition 2025 is another funding issue that has a different structure from a bond issue, but will have a similar result. It asks voters to redirect a portion of the school district’s revenue stream from the debt repayment fund to the general operations fund.

The wording of this proposition and the reason for the whole financial maneuver are both somewhat complicated. The short version is that the Missouri state government puts a cap on how much bond debt a school district can have. By converting a portion of the district's debt payment revenue into general operating revenue, the school district is freer to use that money for a different type of loan that isn't as restricted by the state.

Prop 2025 will generate an estimated $15 million and result in no net tax increase (the operating tax levy will increase, but the debt payment tax will decrease by the same amount).

If approved, funding from both ballot issues would go toward construction of a new Wright City High School between Roelker Road and Highway F, as well as renovation of the old high school as an administrative building, renovation of the old admin building as a second preschool location, and a four-room addition to East Elementary.