Osage County sales taxes to equal 2.75%

By Elise Brochu, Staff Writer
Posted 10/23/24

LINN - Following the passage of Prop R, a total of 2.75% sales tax will be collected and remitted to Osage County. Here is a brief synopsis of those taxes.

— General Revenue Sales Tax: The …

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Osage County sales taxes to equal 2.75%

Posted

LINN - Following the passage of Prop R, a total of 2.75% sales tax will be collected and remitted to Osage County. Here is a brief synopsis of those taxes.

— General Revenue Sales Tax: The ballot language for the original General Revenue tax of 1/2% was not readily available; however, the county budget estimates $730,000 will be collected this year. Those funds are deposited into General Revenue and used for overall county operations.

— Jail Renovation Fund, JR60: 1/2% was passed in a special election held on Aug 7, 2007. The original ballot language read “Shall the County of Osage, Missouri, impose a countywide sales tax for one half of one percent (1/2 of 1%) for a period of 20 years for the benefit of the County, including but not limited to providing funds for general operating purposes and for renovating, improving and maintaining the Osage County Courthouse, and reduce its total property tax levy annually by fifty percent (50%) of the total amount of sales tax revenue collected in the same tax year?” This ballot language allows the county to spend the money in any way commissioners see fit.

The 2024 county budget estimates that $800,000 will be collected as a result. Of that $800,000, only $10,000 was budgeted for repairs to the courthouse/jail. Another $125,000 was budgeted to be transferred to a reserve fund, $150,000 was budgeted to be used for the Annex Building payment, and $7,500 was budgeted for County Operations. The JR60 bank account had a balance of $1,847,856.14 at the end of September. This tax will sunset (end) in 2027 unless another measure is passed to replace it.

— Capital Improvement: Also, during the Aug 7, 2007 election, an additional tax of 1/4% for 10 years was passed for the administration (annex) building. The original ballot language for that tax read, “Shall the County of Osage, Missouri, impose a countywide capital improvements sales tax at the rate of one-quarter of one percent (1/4 of 1%) for a period of ten years for the purpose of acquiring, renovating, improving, and equipping an administration building?”

At the end of September, the AX08 Annex Building bank account had a balance of $356,889.17, with an estimated $35,000 to be spent on “Services,” per the county’s 2024 budget.

This tax was renewed/extended during a special election held on Aug. 8, 2017. That ballot language read, “Shall Osage County continue the Capital Improvement Sales Tax that will expire December 31, 2017, for an additional 10 years to fund capital improvement in infrastructure at 90% and building and grounds at 10% of annual taxes collected from this Capital Improvement Sales Tax?”

This extended the 1/4% being collected for capital improvements until 2027. Of the $408,000 estimated to be collected for this, the county’s budget estimates $40,000 will go to Building and Grounds (BG89), all of which is budgeted to be spent for that purpose. The remaining $368,000 is budgeted to go to Capital Improvements (C188), of which $130,000 was earmarked for Road and Bridge (RB02), and $75,000 is budgeted for “Bridges.” Account C188 had a balance of $1,252,198.81 at the end of September.

— Proposition P: During a special election on Nov. 5, 2019, an additional 1/2% sales tax was passed. The ballot language reads, “Shall the County of Osage impose a countywide sales tax of one-half of one percent for a period of ten years beginning May 1, 2020, and expiring July 31, 2030, for the purpose of improving law enforcement services for the Osage County Sheriff’s Office?”

The county’s 2024 budget estimates that $805,000 will be collected for Prop P. This money is deposited into General Revenue (GR01), as all of the sheriff’s department revenue and expenses go through that account.

— County Law Enforcement/911 Continuation Sales Tax, SF49: On April 7, 2020, an additional 1/2% sales tax was passed. The ballot language reads, “Shall the County of Osage impose a countywide sales tax of one-half of one percent for a period of ten years, beginning April 1, 2021, and expiring March 31, 2031, for the purpose of providing law enforcement services, including the continued funding, improvement and operation of emergency 911 services for the County of Osage?”

The 2024 county budget estimates that $820,000 will be collected. Currently, this tax is used to fund 911, except for the $125,000 budgeted to be returned to General Revenue for the Sheriff’s Office, which was billed $5,000 this year for the use of that service.

— Proposition R: An additional 1/2% for Proposition R should go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. The original ballot language reads, “Shall the County of Osage impose a countywide sales tax of one-half of one percent for the purpose of providing Road and Bridge Services, which shall be used to improve and maintain all county-maintained roadways and bridges?”

This verbiage does not allow any flexibility for using this tax for anything to unrelated maintaining roads and bridges.

— Marijuana Sales Tax: On April 4, 2023, the county passed a 3% tax on the sale of marijuana products. The original ballot language was “Shall OSAGE County, impose a countywide sales tax of three percent (3%) on all tangible personal property retail sales of adult use marijuana sold in OSAGE County, Missouri?” To date, nothing has been collected.

— Consolidated County Use Tax, UT33: While not technically sales tax, use tax is also collected by the state and remitted to the county. The original ballot language was not readily available for this tax; however, the 2024 county budget estimates $750,000 will be collected, with estimated expenditures of $1. The UT33 bank account had a balance of $2,323,677.87 at the end of September.

Editor’s Note: The Sheriff’s Office, Road and Bridge, Health Department, and 911 budgets will be covered in later articles. The county’s 2025 budget will be adopted in January.