TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! AWESOME TKC TIPSTERS REVEAL CANNED TALKING POINTS FOR THE UPCOMING KANSAS CITY TAX AND SPEND ELECTION!!!



This morning some of the most AWESOME TKC TIPSTERS have obtained a document that will define our Kansas City Tax, Borrow And Spend political discourse over the next few months.

Check it:

TKC TIPSTERS HAVE OBTAINED A SHOCKING LIST OF CANNED ANSWERS AND TALKING POINTS FOR THE UPCOMING TAX, SPEND AND BORROW ELECTION!!!

The vote is going down on August 7th and unfortunately there isn't any organized opposition to Mayor Sly's SPENDTHRIFT efforts.

Still . . . Local elites and ambitious politicos have prepared their answers for any residents silly enough to think their voice or vote matters.

Take a look . . .

CHECK OUT THE TKC EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENT ONLINE!!!

Or . . .

Here's the text of these EXTENSIVE KANSAS CITY PRO-TAX TALKING POINTS AND A PREVIEW OF THEIR GAME PLAN . . .

Kansas City Question 1
Frequently Asked Questions

1. When is the election?

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

2. Who is qualified to vote in this election?

Residents of Kansas City, Missouri who are registered to vote at their current address.

3. What is Kansas City Question 1?

Question 1 changes the way we fund the Kansas City parks system and street maintenance and repairs. By voting yes, the collection of three existing property taxes and a motor vehicle fee that are dedicated to Parks (which are paid by Kansas City residents only) are discontinued and a one half cent sales tax (which is paid by everyone, including people who visit or work in Kansas City, but don't live here) is enacted. This sales tax will be dedicated to the Parks System and replaces revenue from the property taxes and motor vehicle fee. This will provide stable funding and enhanced services for the entire Parks System, and also eliminates the need for contributions from the City's General Fund each year.

4. What percentage of the vote is required to pass this issue?

A simple majority is required to pass both Kansas City Questions 1 and 2.

5. Which property taxes and fees will be discontinued if this sales tax is approved by voters?

- billing and collection of the traffic way maintenance tax will be discontinued
- billing and collection of the park and boulevard maintenance tax will be discontinued
- billing and collection of the boulevard front foot assessment tax will be discontinued
- renewal of the motor vehicle fee that funds community centers will be prohibited

6. How much revenue will be lost with discontinuation of these property taxes and fees?

Approximately $14 million per year.

7. What is the annual allocation to the Parks System from the City's General Fund?

Approximately $13 million in this year's budget.

8. How much additional revenue will be generated from the sales tax for the Parks System?

After the property taxes and fees, and contributions from the City's General Fund are discontinued, the Parks System will experience a net increase in revenue of approximately $3 million per year, which does not fully restore its funding from only four years ago, but provides a stable source of revenue to maintain the Parks System.

9. How will the $13 million per year in the General Fund be spent that will no longer be
allocated to the Parks System? 

With the sales tax in place, the City will no longer contribute to the Parks System with money from the General Fund, and will use that and additional monies to fund a permanent street maintenance and repairs fund. This is accomplished by dedicating a minimum of 7.5% of the revenue collected from the Earnings Tax (currently $15 million per year), which is nearly double the current amount of money budgeted for street
maintenance.

10. How do we know future Councils will dedicate this money to the street maintenance fund?

With the sales tax in place, the City must contribute 7.5% of Earnings Tax revenue to the new street maintenance and repairs fund every year because it is written into the ballot language that voters will approve on August 7, which cannot be changed by this or future City Councils without a vote of the people.

11. What percentage of sales tax revenue in KCMO is paid by people who do not live here?

Approximately one-third of all sales taxes collected in Kansas City are paid by visitors; by those who attend conventions and meetings; and by people who work in the city, but do not live here.

12. Why doesn't the proposed sales tax have a sunset, like some other sales taxes?

This is a permanent reform designed to finance Kansas City's Parks System and street maintenance by including people who visit or work in the city, using our infrastructure, but who do not live here. It replaces revenue from three property taxes and the motor vehicle fee that will no longer be collected, and will indirectly allow for the establishment of a new, permanent fund for street maintenance and repairs. It is not intended to be a temporary measure.

13. How much will this sales tax cost a typical resident of Kansas City, Missouri?

When the property taxes and fees are discontinued, the net additional amount a typical Kansas City resident will pay is $ xxxxx. ???????????????????????

14. Why does the Park Department need any additional funds? 

The Park Department serves all residents of Kansas City , and additional funds are needed to properly staff and program It's facilities , including Community Centers; and to keep it's parks and boulevards clean and safe. Along with every other Department at City Hall, the Parks budget has been reduced every year over the past four years and the additional money helps restore some of the funding that has been lost.

15. Why do we need a street maintenance and repairs fund?

The greatest ongoing challenge in Kansas City is infrastructure maintenance, repairs and replacement. A permanent fund for street maintenance and repairs, with a dedicated source of revenue (7.5% of the Earnings Tax), guarantees that a minimum amount of money each year will be used for this purpose.

16. What will the sales tax rate be in Kansas City after the new sales tax is implemented, and how does that compare with the rates in other communities in the area?

With approval of Question 1, the new rate will be 8.35% in Kansas City (Jackson County). This is slightly higher than the rate in other communities on the Missouri side of the State Line, but about 1/2 percent lower than in Kansas side communities. It is also lower than the sales tax in St. Louis, which is 8.491%.

17. How much money from the new sales tax will be redirected to TIF projects?

The total revenue from the new one half cent sales tax is approximately $34 million per year, with TIF projects receiving approximately $4 million per year, netting $30 million per year for the Parks System, which is approximately $3 million per year more than the current Parks System budget.

Kansas City Question 2
Frequently Asked Questions


1. What is Kansas City Question 2?

Question 2 allows the City to authorize $500 million in revenue bonds to upgrade its sanitary sewer system, as mandated by the federal government, to reduce the overflows of combined sewage and storm water. It will also fund construction of sanitary sewers in high-growth areas of the city.

2. Why do we need to make these upgrades?

Federal laws and regulations require that cities with older infrastructures, like Kansas City, must change the way we capture, store and treat storm water and sewage. The City entered into an agreement with the federal government to make these improvements over 25 years, but there are progress deadlines along the way that the City must meet. The bond authority on the ballot in August will help the City meet its deadlines.

3. How are the revenue bonds paid off?

These bonds will be retired with revenue generated from customers who use the City water, wastewater and storm water systems, not from other taxes like property taxes.

4. Will property taxes be increased to pay off these bonds?

No. There will be no increase in any taxes to pay off these bonds.

5. What happens if voters don’t approve this bond authorization?

Sewer rates are rising to help pay for these expensive upgrades to the system, but without bond authorization sewer rates will have to rise drastically to pay for all of the needed repairs and expansions. The use of revenue bonds will help manage rate increases because the City can pay off the bonds over a longer period of time.

6. Won't interest on the bonds cause the project to cost more in the end?

With low interest rates today, it is less expensive to finance the project in this manner, as opposed to a 'pay-as-you-go' method wherein the City could miss certain deadlines set by the federal government to complete the project.
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Comments

  1. Sounds expensive.

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  2. AWESOME TIPSTER!!! AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!! um... AWESOME!!!

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  3. Whoever wrote that doesn't even know the difference between it's and its, but let's trust them with our money. Right.

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  4. The city will spend tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to campaign for this - all unreported. But if any group dares challenge this look for the Ethics Commission to come down on them hard.

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  5. These talking points aren't even close to what we'll be haring once Gray, Glorioso, Rowe, and the rest of the "consultants" get rolling.
    Doom and gloom, the big bad Feds, and threats of enormous increases if you don't vote for this are on the way.
    Just like the etax was all about public safety.
    And the voters will lose again!

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  6. At least the "consultants" will be paid for with private donors (who will make millions off the city) and mostly they will report it but the city will spend tens of thousands in support of this without any reporting and its all perfectly legal. At least legal in the eyes ot the "Ethics Commission"

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  7. Nothing original to report. Slow news day.

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  8. More corporate welfare, they need the money to create more jobs--- hahahahaha.

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  9. The Mayor's shadow6/15/12, 12:54 PM

    Sounds like the staffers need to pay more attention to detail.

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  10. "The bureacracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies."

    A long ago quote but quite true.

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  11. Burns & Mac Full Employment Ballot Issue!! $3,000 a year Sewer Bills!!

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  12. During the Funkhouser years, the city gave away over $500 million in tax dollars to private companies (under TIF), so now they have to collect it all over again. There's no democracy in Kansas City.

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