Shopping in Jefferson County is not only convenient, but also could save your life, said Dan Govero, president of the Jefferson County Growth Association, which is leading the campaign encouraging county residents to buy their goods from local merchants.
“Many people don’t realize the sales taxes they pay when they shop here go to their local ambulance and fire districts, for policing and for roads,” Govero said. “Those entities need sales tax money to operate day to day and pay for improvements.”
Jefferson County funds about 42 percent of its day-to-day budget through a 1/2-cent sales tax, and separate 1/2-cent sales taxes also provide much of the share of funding for law enforcement and for road and bridge improvements.
The budgets of most of the county’s cities are similarly dependent on sales taxes, and as Govero pointed out, so are entities such as ambulance and fire protection districts.
“Shopping in Jefferson County really makes a difference,” Govero said.
To underscore the importance of the “Shop Jefferson County” campaign, about 300 bumper stickers recently were placed on county-owned vehicles.
“The county obviously benefits from the sales tax, and it’s good they’ve decided they need to let people know the importance of it,” Govero said. “We’re next looking to see if the Health Department will put the bumper stickers on their vehicles.”
Fortunately, sales tax receipts didn’t suffer as much as officials feared during the pandemic over the past year, Govero said.
“People were staying closer to home, making improvements to their homes, making their own meals or ordering take-out from local restaurants,” he said.
However, with many people sensing that the end of the pandemic is just around the corner, Growth Association officials are worried they will want to broaden their buying radius, Govero said.
“It’s understandable to an extent, but we want to make sure people know how important it is to spend their money locally when they can,” Govero said. “We’d also like to draw people from St. Louis County and give them a place to go where the controls aren’t so tight.”
Govero said another concern is that many people are choosing to purchase items online.
“When you buy items from Amazon that you can get locally, we’re going to keep losing stores because they’re not going to be able to stay open,” he said. “That’s going to put people out of work, and that might be your neighbor. That’s not what anyone wants. Their (Amazon’s) trucks are going up and down our streets, putting wear and tear on them – but we don’t see any money from their sales.”
Govero said the JCGA website at jcgamo.org and the Jefferson County Tourism Commission site at
visitjeffersoncounty.com provide a wealth of ideas for places to go and things to do and still not cross the county line.
For a Shop Jefferson County bumper sticker or for more information about the JCGA, call 314-210-0211.