Upcoming Liberty Vote on Taxes Increase info

Liberty April 2, 2024 Ballot Issues

On January 22, 2024, the Liberty City Council voted to add a General Obligation Bond issue to the April ballot.

On April 2, 2024, Liberty voters will have the opportunity to consider the following ballot measure:

Shall the City of Liberty, Missouri, issue its general obligation bonds in the amount of $60,000,000 for the purposes of acquiring, constructing, renovating, improving, and equipping the parks and park property in the City, including without limitation (1) acquiring, constructing, and equipping an Activity Center and (2) renovating and improving the existing Community Center?

The City of Liberty ballot initiative calls for increasing personal property taxes by over 50%, on the ballot question this April 2nd.  This "general obligation bond" as they are calling it, is actually a personal property tax increase of over 50% on the city of Liberty portion of annual personal property taxes. 

The City of Liberty property tax levy is $0.8751 per $100 assessed valuation, this includes $0.7408 for the City’s General Fund and $0.1343 for Liberty Parks & Recreation. The assessed valuation is provided from the Clay County Assessor’s Office by requirements of the Missouri State Statutes.  At an additional $0.46 per $100 of valuation added to the existing $0.8751, it is a 50%+ increase in Liberty's personal property tax bill. The $60 million General Obligation Bonds, which will have a term of 20 years, will be repaid by Liberty residents through a property tax levy of an extra $0.46 per $100 of assessed valuation on property. The 33% assessment on commercial means instead of an extra 46 cents per $100, now it will be an extra 69 cents per $100! This uses up about 75% of Liberty's bonding capacity for a rec center and an 8-court indoor basketball facility.  This will be 46 cents extra on every $100 valuation for homes. If this $60M passes, the bonding could be short for 10 to 15 years if Liberty needs a new Police Station or Fire Station due to Liberty's growth. Liberty's Police Department is the same size as it was when we were half the size dept. Fire station 3, finally getting expansion to sleep 10 vs 3. Fire station 2, only sleeps 5 and needs room for 10. Public Works has 2x street miles and no new space for trucks or equipment.

Liberty Activity Center Concept Images

Important Dates to Remember:

• Feb. 20 - First day of absentee voting
• March 6 - Last day to register to vote. Mail in registration must be postmarked by this date. 
• March 19 - First day of no excuse absentee voting
• March 20 - Last day to request an absentee ballot by mail
• April 1 - Last day of in person absentee voting
• April 2 - Election Day

If you are unsure if you are registered or want to find your official polling place, check your voter registration status online here. If you have any questions about registering, call the Clay County Board of Elections at 816.415.8683.