Holton city sales tax election is Tuesday, June 6

A special election to determine whether a half-cent sales tax for infrastructure maintenance and improvements and debt service will continue for the next 10 years in Holton will be held next Tuesday, June 6, it has been reported.

Holton residents will be able to vote on the sales tax issue from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day at Holton First Baptist Church, located at 404 Juniper Drive in Holton, and voters are reminded to bring an ID to vote. The election was set by a resolution approved in April by the Holton City Commission.

The half-cent sales tax was originally approved by Holton voters in 2013 and will sunset at the end of this year if the 10-year extension is not approved by voters. If it is approved, the sales tax will be extended through Dec. 31, 2033.

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 and is in addition to a quarter-cent sales tax for street repairs that went into effect in 1995. The sales tax does not have any impact on property taxes paid by Holton residents.

If approved, Holton’s sales tax — at 0.75 percent overall — will 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, according to KDOR.

City officials noted in April that the sales tax had generated a total of $4,467,349.59 in revenue for the city, $2,875,041.28 of which has been spent so far on infrastructure improvements that may have otherwise been paid for through property tax increases or utility rate hikes. That leaves $1,592,308.31 in reserve for improvements to the city’s infrastructure system, it was reported.

It was also noted at that time that the sales tax has played a role in reducing the city’s indebtedness. According to previously published city budgets, the city’s indebtedness on Jan. 1, 2014, before the sales tax went into effect, was $7,327,130; as of Jan. 1, 2022, that indebtedness had been cut to $1,740,587.