Capital Road tax discussion will take place Wednesday

COLUMBIA — The time has come for Boone County officials to talk about whether they need more tax money for roads. That will be the topic when Boone County commissioners meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in their chambers at the Roger B. Wilson Boone County Government Center.

The county already has a half-cent sales tax for roads that was first passed in 1993. Voters agreed last November to renew it for 10 years.

Presiding Commissioner Ken Pearson, however, said needs have changed.

“Current funding is fairly level,” Pearson wrote in an e-mail to the Missourian, “but costs, especially for fuel and petroleum-based products, continue to increase.”

The meeting, Pearson said, will address future needs for roads in Boone County.

He added that it is a continuation of a conversation that began at an August meeting. During that meeting, commissioners decided to put the extension of the half-cent sales tax on the ballot instead of trying to pass another tax alongside it.

Commissioners decided to address further funding for roads in the future. The future is here.