Mason City local option sales & service tax renewal passes
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(ABC 6 News) – In a special election held Tuesday, residents in Mason City voted to approve the local option sales and service tax (LOSST) 1,105 to 178.
Unofficial results from the Cerro Gordo County Auditor’s Office show that 1,283 out of the 19,043 registered voters headed to the polls for the special election Tuesday.
Low voter turnout though 6.7 percent – that’s only 1,283 of the 19,043 registered voters in Mason City.
The 1% tax on certain sales and purchases are allocated to the city for specified uses. It’s a revenue stream that some residents say is an important function for the city.
Poll workers tell us it was a slow morning but late Tuesday afternoon, things picked up and then died down again.
They said they were concerned that it wasn’t advertised well enough that they were having a special election or that some people simply didn’t care enough to come out to vote.
In a special election held Tuesday, residents in Mason City voted to approve the local option sales and service tax 1,105 to 178.
But one voter said he was excited to come out and make a difference for his city.
“You know it just helps us thrive. It helps the city thrive. When the city thrives the residents thrive. We just want to see our city be as beautiful as possible.
RELATED: Future of LOSST at stake
The measure is meant to help reduce property taxes cost while also generating money to fund city projects and organizations. Noah Harris said that just this little money can go to improving so much in the community.
“I think our infrastructure is really important. You know like our bridges, our overpasses like you said our parks, our police protection, and our fire protection is very important to me as I think it should be to everyone in the community. Such a small amount of money almost unnoticeable for the average person,” Harris said.
Now that this measure has passed what does this mean – next year is when this renewed LOSST tax starts.
50% of the revenue generated by the tax will go for property tax relief, 40% for street and park improvements, and 10% will go into Mason City’s general fund.
50% of the revenue generated by the tax will go for property tax relief, 40% for street and park improvements, and 10% will go into Mason City’s general fund.
View the full results here.