Citizens commission presents Springfield City Council with final report on sales tax recommendations [Video]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3)—For the last three months, a 30-member group of civic leaders called the Citizens’ Commission on Community Investment has been meeting. It is tasked with making recommendations on how to handle a 3/4-cent city sales tax that will end next March.

The sales tax had been funding the police and fire pension fund, but that program is winding down due to a switch to a state-funded pension plan, and the city wants to consider using the tax money for other purposes.

At a Tuesday luncheon, the commission presented the city council with its final report of recommendations, which included a proposal to separate the $45 million tax into two parts with different directives.

A one-quarter-cent tax would continue to fund the pensions until they run out, plus pay for salary increases for police officers and firefighters and other public safety items.

That part of the tax would raise …