Allen County commissioners agreed to a $5,000 contract with lobbyist Mike Taylor, owner of Kansas City-based StrategyConsultants, to conduct a public information campaign about a possible sales tax to help fund countywide EMS services.
Commissioners have yet to decide whether to place a proposed half-cent sales tax on the Nov. ballot, and they took pains to clarify the $5,000 would be paid by donations and from the Prairie Queen wind farm fund.
(EDP Renewables, which owns the wind farm, makes annual payments of $250,000 to Allen County, part of a 10-year Payment In Lieu of Taxes plan that was agreed to in 2017. The last scheduled payment will occur in 2029.)
Despite waiting at least another week on whether to move forward on the ballot proposal, commissioners are already keenly aware that time is of the essence.
“I don’t know if we have enough time to get it done properly,” remarked Commissioner John Brocker at the onset of the discussion. There are fewer than 80 days until the Nov. 3 election, and county clerk Shannon Patterson said she’d need official language for the potential sales tax vote by the week of Labor Day at the latest.
“I agree with John. We’re short on time, and I am not very confident it’s going to win,” said Daniels. “We already have the press encouraging people to have a negative opinion of it. So it’s already starting to be sabotaged. Why anyone would oppose a sales tax or funding for first responders is reprehensible in my opinion, so I think the battle’s already begun to sabotage it.”
Taylor, on the other hand, didn’t seem particularly worried about timing.
“I think that’s plenty of time,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend really starting the full information campaign until probably late September or October.” Early voting begins October 14.
Taylor participated in the conversation remotely when reached on Commissioner Chairman David Lee’s cell phone.
Under the contract, Taylor will develop a public information campaign which will explain what a “yes” and “no” vote mean. The goal, the contract says, is to ensure voters are well-informed about the reasons for the proposed EMS sales tax. When meeting with commissioners in June, Taylor stressed county officials can educate voters but cannot use public funds to advocate for passage of the measure.
“As part of the deal, I will set a time to come down there and do a brainstorming session with you guys to gather more information, gather your thoughts and others’ thoughts, so that I’m not pulling this out of thin air based on what I’ve heard,” Taylor said. “I’d really like to do a face-to-face with you guys.”
Lee said he’s already begun reaching out to people to get them involved in any future efforts. “There are some people that are very interested in making this happen,” said Lee.
“We’ll get a time and date set for that,” Taylor said. “Hopefully it’s a bit later so that I don’t have to get up at six in the morning to get on the road.”
With Lee’s motion and Daniels offering a second, the commission voted 3-0 to enter the agreement.
THE POTENTIAL half-cent sales tax proposal would likely mirror that on the November 2024 ballot, which Allen County voters defeated by a four-point margin.
Lee believes there’s plenty of room for improvement if the commission decides to put it on the ballot again this fall.
