Jackson County, Mo. Legislature Chair DaRon McGee “has introduced legislation” that would have voters deciding in April “whether to pass a countywide 3/8-cent stadiums sales tax that runs out in the year 2071,” 40 years after the current tax expires in 2031, according to Mike Hendricks of the K.C. STAR. The county “has yet to negotiate new leases with either the Chiefs of the Royals,” which means McGee’s proposed ordinance is “unprecedented.” The current leases were signed before the county legislature in 2006 voted to put the current sales tax up for voter approval. While the language in the ordinance notes “ongoing” lease negotiations, “nowhere does it say that signed leases must be in place before the tax measure is put before the voters.” The Royals want voters “to decide on a sales tax renewal in April” and welcome McGee’s approach to “ensuring that the measure has a place on the ballot as lease negotiations continue that would specify how the sales tax money would be spent.” The deadline for getting something on the April ballot is in late January, and a majority of the nine-member county legislature “would have to approve any ballot issue by then.” County Exec Frank White Jr. is heading up lease agreements and “will almost certainly” veto McGee’s ordinance “unless leases are signed before the ballot deadline” (K.C. STAR, 12/14).
