Special city election is June 6

On Tuesday, June 6, Holton voters will be asked to vote at a special election on whether to allow the city to continue to levy a half-cent municipal sales tax that has been used over the past decade to fund infrastructure improvements and reduce municipal debt.

A resolution approved in April by the Holton City Commission  set the June 6 special election to determine whether the half-cent sales tax, originally approved by a three-to-one margin of Holton voters in November 2013, will be extended through Dec. 31, 2033. A legal notice for the election appears on Page 4A of this edition of The Holton Recorder. 

If the sales tax extension is not approved by Holton voters, the original sales tax as approved by voters in 2013 will sunset at the end of this year. The vote will not have an effect on a previously existing quarter-percent sales tax that went into effect in 1995 and is used to fund street repairs in the city.

The special election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day at First Baptist Church in Holton. Voters are reminded to bring an ID to vote.

The sales tax is a “user tax” that is paid not only by Holton residents but by anyone who comes to Holton and spends money on food, fuel and other items, it has been reported. The sales tax does not have an adverse affect on property taxes paid by Holton residents.

If approved, Holton’s sales tax — at 0.75 percent overall — will still remain lower than most cities in the region that levy a municipal sales tax, save for Meriden and Winchester, both of which levy a half-cent sales tax, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue. Other area cities that levy a municipal sales tax have rates between one and two percent, per KDOR.

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