Public Meeting on Thursday, Jan. 9

Check your mailboxes! Merriam registered voters this month will consider renewing a 1/4-cent special sales tax through a mail-in ballot. Ballots will be mailed on Jan. 8.

You should have also received a four-page newsletter that explains more about this renewal vote. The City’s existing ¼-cent sales tax that exclusively funds street and stormwater projects across Merriam will expire at the end of this year. Voters first approved the special sales tax to pay for these capital improvement projects in 2000 and renewed the tax twice since.

Attend a public meeting at Merriam City Hall this Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. to find out what street and stormwater projects are eligible for funding if the sales tax is renewed.

You can also visit merriam.org/maintainingmerriam or watch this 7-minute video to learn more about this special sales tax.

Voter Information and Important Dates                                                                                                        Visit jocoelection.org/registration to register to vote.

• Jan. 7, 2020: Last day to register to vote (you must request a ballot).
• Jan. 8, 2020: Ballots mailed to all registered voters
• Jan. 28, 2020: Ballots due by 12 p.m.

Maintaining Our Community is The Merriam Way

Since 2011, the City has used revenue from this sales tax to complete 22 projects with eight more scheduled or underway. These projects include improving Johnson Drive, Antioch Road, and Farley Ave. with new roads, sidewalks, and streetlights. The City also completed Shawnee Creek and Meyer Creek drainage projects. As a result of this special sales tax, the City was able to bring in an additional $20.3 million through county, state, and federal grant programs and other funding sources that matched City contributions.

If voters approve renewing the ¼-cent sales tax, more than $20 million in planned projects are eligible for funding through 2030. These projects include Merriam Drive from Johnson Drive to Shawnee Mission Parkway, Carter Ave. from Merriam Drive to 67th St., and nearly 52,000 feet of storm drain rated poor to fair. The City will also use funds to continue maintaining roads and residential streetlights, sidewalks, and small drainage projects across Merriam. Funded projects will be determined during the budget process each year.

Things to Know

• The special sales tax can only be used to fund street, bridge, and drainage improvement projects in Merriam.
• The ¼-cent special sales tax has been in effect in Merriam for the past 20 years and was most recently renewed in 2010 by 75% of voters. The ballot language is the same language from 2010.
• A "yes" vote means your overall sales-tax rate would stay the same at 9.475%, and the 1/4-cent special sales tax would continue through Dec. 31, 2030.
• For every sales tax dollar we collect in Merriam, about $0.80 comes from people outside our community. This means since 2011, Merriam residents paid only about $3.5 million of the projected $17.3 million in revenue generated by this sales tax.

Find more information, including frequently asked questions, at merriam.org/maintainingmerriam.