By Jeff Lehr

jlehr@joplinglobe.com

PINEVILLE, Mo. — Tuesday’s election in McDonald County features ballot propositions in Goodman and Noel, and a handful of races in other towns.

Goodman

Goodman residents will be voting on ballot propositions to make the city tax collector an appointed office, to increase the city’s operating levy and to impose a half-cent sales-tax increase.

The city tax collector currently is an elected office, although no one filed to be a candidate for the office this election. The officeholder collects personal and real property taxes for the city, and is paid a small percentage of what is collected.

Mayor Calvin Wilson said collectors always have set their own hours, and this has caused some inconveniences for the public and added expenses for the city when city employees are forced to receive tax payments in the officeholder’s absence and mail back tax receipts.

“We could actually save money by hiring a collector to work a few hours a week during the three to four months of the tax season,” Wilson said.

It will take just a simple majority of voters to change the office to an appointed position with passage of Proposition 1. The current collector, Mandy Lewis, is not seeking re-election, but the proposition could be delayed until the next election if voters write in someone’s name on the April ballot, the mayor said.

Wilson said Goodman is struggling to keep revenues up with expenses for basic services. Sales-tax revenues fell about $12,300 this past year and property-tax revenues about $4,500. The city was forced to eliminate one of its three police officer positions.

Proposition 2 is aimed at increasing revenues by raising the operating levy from 60.83 cents per $100 valuation to the maximum of $1 allowed by law. The increase would raise the annual taxes the owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 pays the city from $115.58 to $190.

The money would go to the general fund for police, municipal court, administration and recreation services.

Proposition 3 seeks to hike the city’s sales tax from 1 cent to 1.5 cents for street and infrastructure upgrades. The existing sales tax all flows into the general fund.

The mayor said the increase is needed to repair streets that were cut up when the town’s new water pipes were installed. He said the city clerk’s research shows that a majority of towns in McDonald and Newton counties have a half-cent sales tax for transportation purposes.

“They’re fair,” Wilson said of Goodman streets’ overall condition. “They’re not tore up. But they’re getting rough.”