Osage County voters approve sales tax ballot question to pay law enforcement center startup costs - The Topeka Capital-Journal
Osage County residents voted by a more than 2-to-1 margin Tuesday to approve a ballot question putting in place a half-cent sales tax to cover start-up costs to build a new law enforcement center.
The final, unofficial vote was 1,149 to 505, said Osage County Clerk Rhonda Beets.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of this historic moment for Osage County as your Sheriff," Osage County Sheriff Chris Wells said in a statement posted Tuesday evening on his office's Facebook page.
The county will begin levying the tax July 1. It will be in place for four years and cannot be extended without a public vote, according to the ballot question.
Project may help lower property taxes
The ballot question calls for the money raised to cover costs necessary to "design, construct, equip and furnish" the center, including covering initial startup payments of principal and interest on bonds issued to finance the project.
Costs for the project are to be capped at $20 million.
The new center is to be constructed next to the current sheriff's office, a former nursing home that is to be demolished after the new center is built.
The project will include constructing a 144-bed jail, which will enable Osage County to generate revenue by housing inmates on a short-term basis who are in the custody of other counties or the U.S. Marshal's Office, according to Wells' office's Facebook site.
It said the project is estimated to generate annual revenues of $1.2 million to $1.4 million after operations and debt service costs are covered, which will help cover costs to construct the center and could help enable Osage County to lower property taxes.
"In the coming months, we will be finalizing contracts, breaking ground, and beginning construction of the new LEC," Wells said on Facebook. "We will keep the community updated on progress as it's being made."
source: https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/2022/02/09/half-cent-sales-tax-approved-osage-county-law-enforcement-center/6719095001/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.