About the Special Sales Tax Renewal
The City's existing 1/4-cent special sales tax that funds streets and stormwater projects across Merriam is set to expire Dec. 31, 2020.
The sales tax can only be used to maintain Merriam's infrastructure, which includes projects like reconstructing residential streets, bridge repairs/replacement, and drainage improvements.
Since 2011, the City's collected more than $15 million from this tax and used the money to complete 22 projects (see before and after photos on right), 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, just to name a few. As a result of this special sales tax, the City is expected to leverage $17.9 million by the end of 2020 for those projects through county, state, and federal grant programs that matched City contributions.
In January 2020, residents will be asked to vote to renew this 1/4-cent special sales tax so the City can continue to keep Merriam's streets and sidewalks up to your expectations.
Things to Know:
- The special sales tax can only be used to fund infrastructure improvement projects in Merriam.
- The ballot language is the same language from 2010, when 75% of voters approved the special tax renewal.
- 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 dollar of sales tax 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.
Read Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the special sales tax renewal, including what projects have been paid for with this special sales tax in the past (see google map on right) and what projects will be eligible for funding if it's renewed.