Media Contact:
Abbey Martin
620-225-8100
abbeym@dodgecity.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 17, 2021
City of Dodge City Commission Approves Special Question for the 2021 Election Ballot
DODGE CITY, Kansas— The City of Dodge City Commission approved Resolution No 2021-21 at the August 16 meeting authorizing a question to be submitted on the 2021 Election ballot regarding an additional one-half cent sales tax to be dedicated to street projects. Once submitted to the Ford County Election Clerk, the question will be added to the ballot for Dodge City residents to vote on.
“This question is asking the voters to choose yes or no on whether to increase the Dodge City sales tax by one-half cent, which is equal to 0.5%, or an increase of 50 cents for every $100 in purchases for the next ten years to fund street-related projects,” said City Manager Nick Hernandez. “The increase would begin no earlier than April 1, 2022, and by law, the revenues from the increase would only be able to be used on street projects.”
Currently, the street maintenance budget for residential streets ranges from approximately $300,000-$500,000 per year, with an additional $1-$1.5 million of debt issued for additional City/Highway modernization and expansion projects. If approved, the one-half-cent increase in sales tax is projected to generate an additional $4.6 million in street funding per year.
According to Hernandez, though the question for the ballot is for a 0.5 % increase the current sales tax rate in Dodge City would increase by 0.35 %. This is due to an existing 0.15 % sales tax for Horse Thief Reservoir expecting to sunset, or end, the beginning of 2022.
“The current sales tax rate in Dodge City is 8.65%,” Hernandez said. “When you account for the Horse Thief tax ending and if the proposed streets sales tax passes, the sales tax rate would come out to 9%.
City staff is in the process of creating an educational page on the www.dodgecity.org site to address questions and concerns regarding the proposed ballot question.
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