Dear Editor,
In 2008 Union County voters approved an additional sales tax to help fund senior services programming and county engineer’s capital improvements. The levy was renewed in 2012, again in 2017, and returns to the Nov. 8 ballot for a third five-year extension.
The funds generated from the .25% sales tax will continue to be used for two purposes only. Half of the revenue pays for direct services to our senior citizens. The other half goes directly towards the construction and maintenance of our county roads and bridges.
Some facts about our funding:
The primary source of the revenue for our construction projects is from ‘user fees’ and ‘user taxes’–license plate fees and gas tax
Property taxes do not fund our work
Construction inflation continues to outpace any modest revenue gains–a mile of newly paved road costs $180,000–the average price-tag of our recent major bridge replacements is approaching $1.0 million per site
The funding of the road work in our growing county is a little more difficult each year. While the dollars from our share of the levy over the last fifteen years cannot fully bridge the gap between our needs and available funding, the levy has allowed us to continue with an annual paving and bridge replacement program.
I ask that you please consider supporting the sales tax levy by casting a ‘yes’ vote. With its renewal, each of our planned improvements, large or small, will help bring us closer to our primary goal–safer and effective roads in our growing county.
Jeff Stauch
Union County Engineer