Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the accurate number of votes against the measure: 16,703.
It also includes a statement from Councilmember Faris Farassati, which was added Friday morning.
A three-eighths cent special sales tax dedicated to street and infrastructure maintenance has won approval by Overland Park voters with just over 53% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Johnson County Election Office.
The results from by-mail and dropbox voting showed the measure passed with a total of 19,157 votes in favor, to 16,703 against. Turnout was 24.6%.
Voting closed at noon Thursday. Results will be canvassed and official totals finalized on Wednesday, June 28.
When does the tax increase take effect?
The increase will be effective in April, 2024, immediately after the existing one-eighth cent sales tax expires.
The additional estimated revenue of $24.5 million means additional street, sidewalk and bridge repairs can begin shortly after, said Mayor Curt Skoog.
“I’m proud Overland Park residents demonstrated the importance of maintaining city infrastructure,” by approving the tax increase, he said Thursday. “The city looks forward to proving to residents we will spend the money wisely, as the ballot has directed.”
A closer margin than past votes
The unofficial 53.4 -46.6% margin was tighter than in past sales tax referendums.
The 2008 referendum renewing the one-eighth cent tax had 75% approval, for instance.
Skoog said the slimmer margin is understandable since that was a vote to maintain the same tax rate.
“Any time you ask for an increase in taxes, sales tax or whatever, it’s a harder lift,” he said.
Skoog added that the additional revenue will enable the city to reduce its dependency on chip seal, a road maintenance method that has proved unpopular with many residents.
City councilmember Faris Farassati said city leaders need to “learn a lesson” from that unofficial six percentage point margin.
“I highly encourage the council and our staff to align their priorities for spending this extra revenue with the priorities of the people of Overland Park,” Farassati said in an emailed statement Friday morning. “These are hard earned dollars in tough economic times for our constituents and eliminating chip seal should definitely be a top priority. Half a century is not an acceptable timeframe for this.”
One-eighth cent tax was originally passed in 1998
The city has had a dedicated sales tax of one-eighth of a cent on the books since 1998, but it will expire at the end of March, 2024.
The new tax will take effect in April and would expire in ten years.
The additional estimated $24.5 million a year accounts for most of the $28.5 million yearly spending increase recommended by a special advisory committee to keep the streets, sidewalks, bridges and traffic systems from falling into disrepair.
City Manager Lori Curtis Luther has proposed keeping a flat property tax levy to raise another $4 million to fill the gap.
Assessed property valuations in Overland Park increased by 10.7% this year, which would result in more tax revenue without a rollback in the taxing rate. But the city council has not yet made a decision on its final budget or property tax rate.
City has dealt with complaints about chip seal for years
The sales tax referendum evolved after some residents brought complaints about chip seal road maintenance to councilmembers a couple of years ago.
Chip seal is a road maintenance method that involves pressing finely crushed rock into a film of asphalt usually sprayed onto the surface.
It has been a perennial source of complaints from residents, who say the rock chips and sticky asphalt used in the process can damage cars and cause injury to those who bike or skateboard on residential streets.
In 2021, presidents of 24 homeowners associations asked for streets in their subdivisions be bypassed for street repairs that involved chip seal.
As discussions progressed about the costs of using other maintenance methods, city councilmembers moved to set up an ad hoc group to study the city’s broader infrastructure needs and how to pay for them.
The group recommended increasing annual spending on infrastructure by $28.5 million, raising infrastructure spending from the current $41.2 million to $70 million per year.
Street maintenance would comprise the majority of the spending, with a goal of maintaining their average condition rating as good, rather than allowing it to sink to “fair” by 2040.
Chip seal will not be eliminated with new tax
The city has just over 2,000 lane miles of streets, of which about 9% are beyond useful life, the infrastructure group’s report said.
Moreover, by 2040, the average age of the street system will be 48 years old, just shy of the average life span of 50 years.
The sales tax increase approval will not stop the use of chip seal but could reduce its usage because other methods — like mill and overlay, asphalt and concrete — could be used to extend the streets’ life, according to the city’s web page.
The advisory group had recommended reducing chip seal over time by doing more reconstruction and rehabilitation that would last longer.
It also asked city officials to consider not using chip seal on cul-de-sacs and streets where a lack of sidewalks forces more pedestrians onto the road.
City officials estimate the new tax revenue will result in an 18% reduction of chip sealed streets in 2025.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
