Platte County residents sue officials over refusal to enact voter-approved sales tax

Yahoo

22-02-2025

Platte County residents are suing the Platte County Commission and the Missouri Department of Revenue for refusing to enact and collect a voter-approved sales tax to support youth mental health initiatives throughout the county.
The lawsuit asks the court to require county and state officials to take the actions needed to start collecting the tax by April 1.
Chuck Hatfield, an attorney who specializes in cases involving actions of Missouri governments, filed the suit on behalf of two Platte County residents: former Parkville Alderman Warren 'Greg' Plumb and Tara Bennett. The two supported the tax and the coalition that gathered signatures to get the question on the ballot in November against commissioners' wishes.
In November, 56% of voters approved the quarter-of-a-cent-sales tax to expand mental health services through the creation of a Children's Services Fund. Despite the election results, the commissioners then refused to levy the tax during a largely attended meeting in December.
The lawsuit says commissioners' 'failure to administer the Children's Services Tax is a violation of their mandatory duties' according to Missouri law.
'This has always been about kids and youth needing more services and better access to mental health care in five counties,' said Dennis Meier, co-executive director of Synergy Services.
Synergy is a part of the coalition that fought to get the measure before voters by collecting signatures in the spring after commissioners said they would not voluntarily put it on the ballot. Other nonprofits such as Beacon Mental Health and Feed Northland also helped lead the signature gathering effort.
Meier said the coalition is not the one suing because the dispute is not about the coalition specifically, but instead about the commission's choice to go against the will of voters.
The lawsuit names Platte County commissioners Scott Fricker, Joe Vanover and newly elected Allyson Berberich as respondents.
Also named is Patricia Vincent, the director of the Missouri Department of Revenue. The suit alleges that the state agency is 'statutorily required' to collect the tax after it was adopted by voters. But DOR officials said they would not levy the tax without an ordinance or a court order, according to the lawsuit.
In a statement responding to the suit, Joe Vanover described the legal challenge as a waste of money to push a political agenda.
'The radical left only cares about raising taxes and advancing their woke agenda. Instead of helping children, they are wasting money on lawyers,' Vanover said in a statement.
In December the coalition that pushed for the tax started a GoFundMe campaign for legal fees to challenge the commissioner's decision. As of Friday, the campaign had raised about $5,000 of its $75,000 goal.
Berberich did not immediately respond for comment.
'The taxpayer funds spent on the attorney will be the result of this lawsuit, not a result of anything that the commission did,' said Fricker.
Fricker also questioned who is funding the 'expensive' lawyers that the residents hired.
In December the all-Republican commission heard nearly two hours of public comment from residents about the Children's Services Fund sales tax that voters had soundly approved the previous month to expand youth mental health services.
Still, commissioners discarded the county's majority vote, claiming Missouri law gave them the discretion to not levy the sales tax if they didn't want to.
Commissioners argued that the ballot question 'authorized' the county to implement the tax but didn't require it to, in effect leaving the decision up to the commission.
The lawsuit disputes that interpretation, alleging the commissioners were required to enact the tax 'in obedience to the mandate of Missouri law, without regard to their own judgment or opinion.'
During the meeting, the board called the county's legal counselor Rob Redman to explain the county's analysis of the state statute regarding the tax.
Redman zeroed in on the word 'may' to justify the commission's decision. He read from the law, 'The governing body of a city not within a county, or any county of this state may, after voter approval under this section, levy a sales tax.'
Vanover said the statute has been clear for 20 years, referencing a 2005 amendment to the law. To him, the Platte County Commission's unanimous vote was not an overturn or override of the voters in Platte because the statute has given the commission the authority to make the final decision.
Some voters disagreed.
'The commissioners have decided our voice doesn't matter, and this should bother everyone no matter their vote,' said Platte County resident Lorene Osterhaus at the time. 'This board has told us our vote does not count.'