By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
It was a full house for Thursday night’s Hays City Commission meeting.
Proponents of the USD 489 $94 million bond issue and an associated one-half cent special purpose retail sales tax sported bright yellow stickers that read “Support Our Future First. Vote Yes.” Several adults brought along their young children. Also in the audience were teachers, administrators, and current and former school board members.
Hays City Attorney John Bird again reviewed the consequences of a successful sales tax petition by supporters after the city rejected the request earlier this year.
“The state statute requires the city…to now notify the county clerk to conduct a sales tax election. The city commission has to formally select the date for the city sales tax election. The school board does that for its own bond election.
“The question requires both elections to take place at the same time…otherwise, the sales tax would not be levied and would not be used to pay the school district bonds,” Bird explained, adding that a special purpose retail sales tax can be in effect up to 10 years.
June 7, 2016, is the date the school board wants to hold its bond election. City commissioners voted two-one to approve a resolution calling for the city sales tax election on the same date–June 7.
Commissioner Lance Jones voted against the measure. His earlier motion to set the election date for Nov. 8, 2016, died for lack of a second. Commissioners Henry Schwaller and James Meier were absent.
All three commissioners expressed their support of the school district’s plan to take care of deferred maintenance, and safety and space issues. “I don’t think any of us are against the school’s,” said Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil, noting he has “three kids soon to be in your school district.”
“But our sales taxes are down–six of the past seven months–and that’s a concern for us.” He explained that Hays residents voted in 1995 for a sales tax to finance the city’s general fund.
Earlier in the meeting, City Attorney Bird clarified the current county-wide one-half cent sales tax will expire no later than October, 2018. The city’s new one-half cent sales tax, if passed , would not go into effect until the county sales tax has expired.
“From the city’s side, I think that’s why we all voted against your request in January. Using the sales tax could hurt us in the future, especially for 10-years,” said Musil.
“What I do like…is it’s going to the voters and they’re going to make the decision, and to me, that’s the most important part of it.”
Hays school board members have scheduled a special meeting for 7 a.m. Monday, March 28, to vote on the USD 489 resolution for a June 7 bond election.