Jackson County voters approved a new tax that is expected to bring in about $8 million annually for programs like free meals and transportation for the county’s seniors.
Question 1, which would have charged owners an additional 5 cents for every $100 of assessed property value, passed by a margin of 57.7% in favor to 42.3% opposed.
For the average Jackson County homeowner, the tax amounts to about $20 a year in additional property taxes. Money raised will go into a special fund overseen by a seven-member board to be appointed by the county Legislature.
Funds will be doled out to organizations that serve residents 60 and older.
Organizations providing services to senior citizens said they don’t have enough money to cover the needs of the growing number of low-income seniors in the county.
Nonprofits that backed the new tax said federal aid that helped cover costs during the pandemic is drying up. Meanwhile, the charities that supported their work had also gone away.
A 2003 state law paved the way for such a senior tax levy. Almost half of the state’s counties have adopted it, including neighboring Clay and Platte counties.
In recent years, county voters have been reluctant to pass new taxes.
In April, Jackson County voters rejected a sales tax to fund new sports stadiums. And last year, voters rejected a proposal to add a sales tax on online purchases.
This story was originally published by The Beacon, a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.
