NEOSHO, Mo. —
Neosho City Council members will wait until after Tuesday’s tax election to gather for their regular meeting, the city’s mayor said on Friday.
The council will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, at the Neosho Civic Center, rather than at 7 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers.
Mayor Richard Davidson said that before the council begins to decide how to budget for the next fiscal year, it needs the results of the vote of the people on its request for authority to assess a property tax of up to $1 per $100 of assessed valuation on all real estate and personal property.
The levy is being sought to buoy the town, which officials say is in such a financial crisis that it could go under without additional revenue. The measure requires a simple majority to pass.
“Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, the council is going to have a number of things to work on in August,” Davidson said. “If the property tax does pass, we need time to prepare for a public hearing and setting a tax levy. If it doesn’t pass, we wanted to give city management a chance to work through some Plan B options and give us a productive meeting either way.”
Officials now see the $1 levy proposal as a last-ditch effort to avoid making drastic cuts to town services. The city has to close a projected shortfall exceeding $1 million for the next fiscal year, which will start Oct. 1.
For a $100,000 home, residents would be looking at a yearly tax bill of $190, at a $1 levy. For a $100,000 business, owners would pay $320 per year at the $1 rate. A $1 levy could bring the city $1.15 million annually, after delinquencies and fees, by the 2011 fiscal year, according to a cash-flow analysis report generated in May for the city by an accounting firm.
Davidson said the council is starting the budget work “probably two to four weeks earlier” than it did last year. He attributed the early start to making certain the council had adequate time to prepare the budget.
“It’s a little earlier than it was last year, but it’s probably not as early as I would have liked to have had it,” he said. “I’d have liked to start it in mid-July.”
City officials have stated that the property tax is necessary to generate revenue to support the city’s general fund, specifically its police and fire departments.
In 1997, the town traded its property tax for a sales tax. The proceeds of the sales tax have been cut significantly by the recession.
Former City Manager Jan Blase acknowledged last year that the city had used a state loan reserved for the construction of airplane hangars to make payroll and pay city bills. He and former city Finance Director Bob Blackwood later acknowledged that the city had borrowed from multiple restricted funds to keep city operations in business.
The grand total “borrowed” from other funds ultimately amounted to $1.8 million.
The city had to take out a loan of $1.3 million this year to stave off insolvency. Blase and Blackwood had already been fired over the city’s financial situation.
Both Blase and Blackwood face misdemeanor charges in connection with the financial situation. Blase has filed suit against the city alleging wrongful termination.
Option no more
City officials had been advised that the council, on its own, could reinstate a 42-cent levy associated with the previous property tax. Officials saw that as an option if the proposed levy were to fail on Tuesday, but now the timing needed for that plan appears to be in doubt, and is no longer on the table.
Local News
Neosho council reschedules meeting for after election
- Local News
-
-
City wants to buy weather radios for those without
Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.
-
Architects present preliminary JHS plans at community meeting
Reaction appeared mostly supportive Thursday night among the roughly 50 people who attended a community meeting at which architects presented their preliminary site plans for the future combined Joplin High School and Franklin Technology Center.
-
Confessed shooter testifies against co-defendants in Pittsburg murder case
Rickey Smith testified Thursday that as he came in the back door of Ryan Bailey’s home in Pittsburg with a 9 mm pistol in his hand, Bailey looked up from the couch in his living room.
-
School district’s proposed street-closing plan questioned
Plans to close some streets near the proposed Joplin High School drew questions, including a challenge from a former Joplin mayor, during a public hearing this week.
-
Neosho council approves new golf cart contract
The purchase of golf carts was back on the agenda this week for the Neosho City Council. City Attorney Steve Hays said there were errors in the financing terms that were part of a bid approved last month for the purchase of 55 gas-powered carts from E-Z-Go for $144,195, so the purchase of a new fleet was rebid.
-
Mike Pound: Spirit of competition evident during double-overtime game
When I played basketball in high school, I played in several very close games.
Now, some people who may have known me in high school are probably laughing right now and saying, “What Mike meant to say is that when he was in high school, he came very close to playing in some games.” -
Mo. optometrist filed $40 million refund claim
A southwest Missouri optometrist who filed a tax return claiming a $40 million refund has been sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison.
-
Okla. receives waiver from No Child Left Behind
Oklahoma’s top education official reacted with glee Thursday with the announcement that the state is one of 10 states being granted a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law that requires students be proficient in reading and math by 2014 — but focused on getting students to “just pass the tests.”
-
Kan. House approves bipartisan redistricting bill
Power in the Kansas House is likely to shift next year from rural parts of the state to the Kansas City area after members overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill Thursday for redrawing their districts.
-
Fugitive in 1993 British heist arrested in Ozark
A man suspected of stealing about $1.5 million from a security van in England in 1993 has been arrested in southwest Missouri.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
