Platte County Commissioners were met by calls of “see you in court!” and “see you at the ballot box!” on Monday, after they voted unanimously to overrule a sales tax measure passed by voters in November.
The quarter-cent sales tax was intended to establish a Children’s Services Fund that would help provide mental health services for youth up to 19 years old.
In November’s election, the tax measure was backed by 56% of Platte County voters. However, county commissioners say they have no intention of actually putting the tax into effect.
Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker told KCUR that, despite the election results, he does not believe Platte County residents actually support the Children’s Services Fund.
”This is a special interest tax. Very few people in the county will benefit from this,” Fricker told KCUR. “And I think most Platte County citizens are in favor of taxes that benefit the general population.”
On Monday, all three commissioners voted to approve an order to not levy the tax.
The officials cited a Missouri statute that they say gives them the power to reject the results of a tax ballot measure, even if it was approved by voters.
“The governing body of a city not within a county, or any county of this state may, after voter approval under this section, levy a sales tax,” the statue reads in part (emphasis added). Platte County commissioners argued that the use of the word “may” allows them to make the final decision.
"You can think about the voters in this case as making a recommendation to the commission," Fricker said.
Platte County commissioners have opposed the children’s services tax all along — in the spring, they refused a request from mental health service providers to place the measure on the ballot.
Then, Platte County residents began their own initiative petition effort and successfully gathered thousands of signatures supporting the tax, leading to November’s vote.
“The proponents knew we were against it from the beginning, why did they go through all the trouble of getting petitions, and collecting donations, and trying to get this passed if they knew we were against it from the start, and that we would have the final say on if it got implemented?” commissioner Joe Vanover told KCUR ahead of Monday’s meeting.
Several dozen residents attended the meeting to address the commissioners before the vote. Among them was Missouri state Rep. Ashley Aune, the incoming Missouri House Minority Leader whose district includes Platte County.
Aune criticized commissioners for acting in opposition to the election results – calling it undemocratic.
“This is an absolutely absurd overwriting of the will of the voters here in Platte,” Aune testified. “As elected officials, it is your job to solve the problem.”
The majority of attendees spoke in favor of the tax, and a few people shared how mental illness has affected their families and communities.
A 2023 study from the Northland Community Foundation found that the area has a serious shortage of mental health providers – with just one provider for every 840 residents.
Many supporters pointed out that Jackson and Clay counties already have a similar sales tax implemented, to positive effect. The Jackson County Children’s Services Fund, which was first passed by voters in 2016, helped over 50,000 children last year, according to a 2023 impact report.
The tax would generate an estimated $5 million per year. That money would be overseen and distributed to community groups by a nine-person board appointed by the county commission.
Vanover said it should be up to parents to address mental health concerns with their children, not outside organizations.
“ It would take $5 to 6 million from Platte County consumers every year,” Vanover said. “And it would put it into the hands of a small group of know-it-alls who think they can spend our money for our children better than parents can.”
Attendees who spoke against the measure were concerned about raising taxes. The average Platte County resident would be estimated to pay an additional $20 a year.
Commissioners also expressed concern that the measure has no sunset provision, meaning it would not automatically expire.
“Once this tax is in place, it never goes away. And that is absolutely a non-starter for me,” Fricker said. “Generations of Platte County voters will never get to weigh in on this.”
