There’s more than one Proposition P up for a vote on April 3.
While voters in unincorporated JeffersonCounty will consider a Prop P property-tax increase to boost funding for the Sheriff’s Office, residents of De Soto will decide the fate of their own Prop P, a half-cent hike in the sales tax.
De Soto’s measure, placed on the ballot by the City Council last August, would raise an estimated $600,000 per year for two purposes – to improve city parks and provide funding for stormwater management.
Proposition P would raise the overall sales tax charged in the city from the current 8.35 cents to 8.85 cents, with the city’s portion of the levy increasing from 1.5 cents to 2 cents.
The measure, which requires a simple majority to pass, would be the city’s first increase in the sales tax since 1998, when voters OKd a half-cent uptick for capital improvements.
Steve Richardson, the man who ran the campaign for that 1998 proposition, is back in that same role this time as chairman of the De Soto Prop P committee.
He framed the issue as the city’s opportunity not only to continue the expansion and improvement of its parks system, but also to generate money for needs that may arise from the ongoing JoachimCreek floodplain management project.
“This all comes back to council members and the city listened to what citizens wanted,” Richardson said. “They wanted the soccer program out of WaltherPark because it took away the park for the citizens to enjoy. The city was looking into the future when they developed this (the new De SotoCityPark, with three soccer fields) up here.”
Richardson said enthusiasm for the measure has grown not only among the city council but also with civic organizations in town, including Get Healthy De Soto and Citizens for Flood Relief as well as the Little League and youth soccer programs.
“There are so many people involved in this that are excited about it,” he said. “The citizens of De Soto, in surveys, talk about a water park, but they also talk about something for the kids to do. This will do it. This will give the city the money.
“This is what the citizens have wanted all along. Every survey, (for) as long as I’ve been here – 30 years – every survey, they want stuff for the kids to do. Well, here’s your chance. And it costs you 50 cents on $100.”
The committee has about 150 yard signs on display as well as nine large signs posted at entrances to the city. The committee also has distributed 2,000 information cards listing potential improvements to the city’s six parks (benches, trash cans, electric lines, lights, concession facilities, walkways) and expansion at De Soto City Park, including baseball and softball fields, tennis, basketball and pickleball courts and an aquatic center.
The card also mentions “reviewing and addressing the 50 miles of street watershed areas with issues” and “consider(ing) expert remediation plans and solutions.”
Because the funds generated by the tax are specifically designated for parks and stormwater needs, proponents say, that money can allow the city to redirect money from the general fund that now is spent on parks (up to $200,000 per year) to other needs.
“It’s going to free up some of the funds we have that are currently going to parks, to be able to use for other things, like to pay for our firemen, pay for our police officers, our city workers,” said Michael Golightly, another member of the Prop P committee.
It will then be up to city residents and groups to speak up on how to use the money.
“These inputs are going to be needed to the city councilmen to make the best decisions and evaluate those decisions going forward,” Golightly said. “That’s going to be a strategic plan for the city of De Soto. It’s going to be an evolutionary activity that, as the funds come, we may do small things initially. There’s minor things that could be done to begin steps for a longer plan – at least that could be done regardless of what the long-term picture is.”
Mayor Larry Sanders, who is up for re-election to the city council, said he knows of no organized opposition to Prop P and said he opened up a dialogue with Citizens for Flood Relief that has won the group’s support for the measure.
“We’ve come to a great understanding and we have a good rapport,” he said.
Sanders said he envisions “new things, better things and a better life in De Soto,” that will call for more money.
“Somebody has to pay for it,” he said. “What better chance is there than to put (in) a sales tax, (what) I would call a users tax. You’re going to buy stuff anyhow, but why not let the thousands of people who go through our city every week and spend money at our gas stations and stores, let them help pay for it?”
He said he’s even willing to sacrifice his seat on the City Council if it will help Prop P pass.
“I’m real positive about it passing,” he said. “(But) I would just as soon be defeated and the proposition pass. I’ll ask God, ‘Take me, and let them win.’ It would make me happy; I would go out on top.”