Voters heading to the polls in Jackson County have the chance to adopt a small property tax increase to fund services for seniors aged 60 and above through a ballot measure called Question 1.

The question reads, “Shall Jackson County, Missouri, levy a tax of five (5) cents per each one hundred (100) dollars assessed valuation for the purpose of providing services to persons sixty years of age or older?”

Voters can either vote yes to impose the 0.05% property tax or vote no to oppose the tax and keep the current property tax levies the same.

Supporters of the levy argue that it will fund vital services for the county’s seniors, like home-delivered meals and health care assistance. But it comes as Jackson County homeowners have expressed concern in the past year over high property tax bills caused by rapidly rising home valuations.

Why is Jackson County considering a property tax to fund senior services?

In 1989, Missouri passed a law that gave counties the option to create “Senior Levy Funds” with voters’ approval. These levy funds get their money from a small property tax of 0.05%, or 5 cents on every $100 in assessed value.

State statute caps the levy rate at this percentage. For example, a home with an assessed value of $100,000 — which is different from the market value of a home — would pay $50 toward the fund in property taxes.

So far, 55 of Missouri’s 115 counties have voted to adopt the program, with Clay and Platte counties among them, according to the pro-Senior Levy Fund group MoALSO. The counties with these funds are generally located in the rural northwest, southwest and southeast parts of the state.

Jackson County has not adopted the measure. Boone County, which contains Columbia, also doesn’t have a Senior Levy Fund. St. Louis City has one, but surrounding St. Louis County does not.

What senior services would the tax levy pay for if Question 1 passes?

We won’t know exactly how Jackson County will spend the funds until after the tax is passed.

The state statute establishing the Senior Levy Funds program specifies that the money must be used “to provide programs which will improve the health, nutrition, and quality of life of persons who are sixty years of age or older,” including operational costs.

This leaves the exact use of the money open to the interpretation of each fund’s board of directors, which is appointed by the county’s governing body. The law also specifies that the funds cannot be used for political purposes.

MoALSO offers a few examples of how this money has been used in Putnam County, including for meals, weather radios, large-print books in public libraries, and flu and shingles vaccines for those who do not yet qualify for Medicare.

In neighboring Clay County, the funds are also used for rides to appointments, residential repairs and safety modifications, according to Tina Uridge, the executive director of Clay County Senior Services.

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