I’m Opposed To Sales Tax For Zoo, Expand Zoo-Museum District And/Or Charge Admission

Two mornings a week admission to the Missouri Botanical Garden is free to those who live in St. Louis city & county — who pay property taxes to the Zoo-Museum District. The rest of the time admission is charged. The zoo, however, is free.

In 1972, the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District – the Zoo Museum District – was formed. Through the District, the citizens and taxpayers of St. Louis City and County make possible the extraordinary quality of five institutions that are essential to life in St. Louis: the Zoo, Art Museum, Science Center, Botanical Garden and History Museum. (Zoo-Museum District)

Limiting the district to city and county made sense, that’s where the bulk of the population lived:

In 1970, the large majority of St. Louisans came together to save the cultural institutions. Today, less than half of the citizenry is left to carry the tax burden that fulfills the dream. There are actually 220,000 fewer residents today than there were in 1970 within the combined borders of the city and county, while the metropolitan area has grown by more than 400,000. (St. Louis Magazine, March 2009)

Yes, in 2009 the population of city & county is less than what it was at formation of the district.

St. Louis and St. Louis County residents already pay property taxes that raise more than $70 million a year for the region’s five cultural institutions. The zoo gets $20 million a year, as does the St. Louis Art Museum. The Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri History Museum and St. Louis Science Center each receive about $10 million annually. (Post-Dispatch, October 2013)

From last month:

Zoo lobbyists are now working in Jefferson City to get legislation passed. The bills would allow county councils to put the tax on county ballots, perhaps as early as next spring.

But a variety of regional leaders have asked the zoo to consider an entry fee for nonresidents instead.

Charging St. Louis and St. Louis County residents with two taxes is unfair, said Ben Uchitelle, a former board member of the Zoo-Museum District, which collects and distributes the existing property tax. He’s also worried about accountability with a new tax. The Zoo-Museum District “carefully studies and holds accountable” the five regional institutions, including the zoo, that receive property tax dollars. Who would collect the new tax? Who would monitor its use? (Post-Dispatch)

In the non-scientofic Sunday Poll a majority supported a sales tax in five counties.

Q: The St. Louis Zoo may propose a 5-county 1/10th of a cent sales tax. Support or oppose?

• Strongly support 10 [27.78%]
• Support 8 [22.22%]
• Somewhat support 2 [5.56%]
• Neither support or oppose 0 [0%]
• Somewhat oppose 3 [8.33%]
• Oppose 5 [13.89%]
• Strongly oppose 7 [19.44%]
• Unsure/No Answer 1 [2.78%]

Support was 55.56 % to 41.66% for opposition. Count me among the opposition. We already have a good model for regional cooperation, we just need to expand it the way population has.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Support or Oppose a Regional Sales Tax for the St. Louis Zoo?

In the news last month was the idea of a 5-county sales tax to support the St. Louis Zoo:

The chief executive of the St. Louis Zoo says a regional sales tax is the right way — and perhaps the only way — to preserve the zoo and its animals for years to come.

President Jeffrey Bonner, in an impassioned argument for a five-county sales tax, said the zoo needs money to repair sewers, roofs and animal exhibits on its 100-year-old Forest Park campus. And it can’t consider operating a proposed 300- to 400-acre conservation breeding site without the new tax.

An admission fee is not the answer, Bonner said. Charging nonresidents for entry would create long lines, discourage attendance, reduce visitor spending and cost the zoo an estimated $50 million in turnstiles, ticket booths and the like. (Post-Dispatch)

The tax, if passed, would be collected on sales in the following counties: Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. Louis, and the independent City of St. Louis. Currently, the Zoo receives about $20 million annual from a property tax in St. Louis city & county.

This is the subject of today’s poll:

The poll is open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Readers On Transportation Funding: Index Fuel Taxes To Inflation, Tax Miles Driven

The non-scientific Sunday Poll asked about transportation finding:

Q: Current state & federal fuel taxes aren’t enough, pick two alternatives:

1. Index fuel taxes to inflation 21 [32.31%]
2. Tax miles driven 20 [30.77%]
3. Tax roads (tolls) 16 [24.62%]
4. Tax cars (registration, etc) 6 [9.23%]
5. Tax barrels of oil, not gasoline/diesel 2 [3.08%]
6. Unsure/No Opinion 0 [0%]

As you can see, three got double digit responses. I personally like all three. Let’s look at some pros & cons of each:

Index fuel taxes to inflation

• PROS:  simple, easy to understand. An improved version of what we’ve had for decades
• CONS: electric vehicles don’t contribute to road maintenance

Tax Miles Driven

• PROS: fair to all drivers (internal combustion & electric), drive more — pay more
• CONS: privacy concerns about monitoring devices, fraud prevention a challenge

Tax Roads

PROS: no privacy issues

CONS: those who drive non-highways wouldn’t pay

Conclusion

The way we’ve been funding transportation hasn’t worked for a long time. Going decades with raising the fuel tax is foolish — it ignores inflation. We’ve also built too many roads and not enough public transit.

We can get out of this, but it involves changing the way things are done. We must recognize inflation and technology requires us to change. The first step is to raise state & federal fuel taxes and to index them to inflationism. The next step is to look at way to document miles driven that do need create privacy concerns.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Best Alternatives For Future Transportation Funding?

At state & federal levels, money for transportation infrastructure is running out; fuel taxes haven’t been raised in years, vehicles are more fuel efficient, electrics are set to go mainstream, etc.  States, like Illinois are looking at other ways to fund construction & maintenance:

There is a proposal in Illinois for the state to put a device on cars to see how many miles citizens are driving.

The state would take that data to use in order to charge a tax on drivers depending on miles driven. It’s all in an effort to make money because the state is losing out on gas tax revenue thanks to more fuel efficient cars on the road. (KMOV)

Other states are testing the same idea, driving more miles costs you more. Which brings us to today’s poll — using alternatives listed in the WSJ:

The poll answers are in random order, open until 8pm.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Support 3 of 5 Propositions on Tuesday’s Ballot

Here are the results from the Sunday Poll (see for full ballot language):

PROPOSITION E Shall the earnings tax of 1%, imposed by the City of St. Louis, be continued for a period of five (5) years commencing January 1…

• YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION 32 [78.05%]
• NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION 9 [21.95%]
• Undecided 0 [0%]

PROPOSITION F $25 million dollar bond

• YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION 26 [72.22%]
• NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION 8 [22.22%]
• Undecided 2 [5.56%]

PROPOSITION 1 School Tax Levy Increase

• YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION 25 [69.44%]
• NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION 10 [27.78%]
• Undecided 1 [2.78%]

PROPOSITION Y MSD Bonds

• YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION 19 [43.18%]
• NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION 22 [50%]
• Undecided 3 [6.82%]

PROPOSITION S MSD Property Tax for operations

• YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION 12 [31.58%]
• NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION 24 [63.16%]
• Undecided 2 [5.26%]

The polls here are non-scientific, actual voting will vary.

Until there’s a vote on a tax to replace the earnings tax, I’ll vote to continue every five years.  I’m still uncertain on the other four, though I’m inclined to vote yes on all of them. Anyone want to argue the pro or con position on any of these?

— Steve Patterson