By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Monday’s Great Bend City Council vote to include a three-quarter-cent sales tax proposal on the ballot for the Nov. 3 general election was not a vote to approve the tax. But Monday’s approval will put the matter into the hands of Great Bend voters in upcoming months. City Administrator Logan Burns explained a quarter-cent sales tax will be dedicated to property tax relief, while a half-cent would be dedicated to infrastructure projects, including rehabilitation of the city’s wastewater treatment facility and a funding source for the city’s general obligation associated with the proposed STAR Bond Project at the Expo Complex.
“The proposed initiative is intended to provide long-term sustainability for critical infrastructure, provide relief within the city’s annual budget, and create opportunities for economic growth in Great Bend over the next several years,” Burns said.
Collecting a sales tax means the city would benefit from dollars spent by visitors to the community. The quarter-cent sales tax that would be directed at the STAR Bond project is the maximum the city can dedicate to that project. If the STAR Bond Project performs successfully, and project revenues are sufficient to support operations and the city’s general obligation bond payment, any portion of that quarter-cent sales tax no longer needed for the STAR Bond obligation would be redirected toward priority water infrastructure projects.
“Those projects include improvements to water blending and distribution infrastructure, improvements to the city’s water wells, and, ultimately, a reverse-osmosis water treatment plant with the goal of improving water quality throughout Great Bend,” said Burns.
The city has estimated rehabilitation of the wastewater treatment plant will cost $23.6 million. If Great Bend voters reject the sales tax proposal in November, residents can expect water and sewer utilities to increase by $240-300 annually to help pay for the rehabilitation.
The proposed three-quarter-cent sales tax means a consumer would pay an additional $7.50 in sales tax for every $1,000 spent in the city.