| Saint Robert park tax vote turnout light so far Tuesday; polls close at 7 pm |
By: Darrell Todd Maurina
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Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 6:23 pm
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St. Robert resident Jim Rogers prepares to vote for the proposed park and pool tax.
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SAINT ROBERT, Mo. (Aug. 4, 2009) — If you live in St. Robert, you have less than 40 minutes left to vote on a proposed tax increase for parks and pools.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. in the St. Robert Community Center on Old Route 66 and will close at 7 p.m. As of 6:10 p.m., only 218 people had turned out to vote in an election that would raise the city’s sales tax by a quarter-cent while eliminating the personal property tax on residents. Although anyone shopping in St. Robert will pay the tax, the election is open only to St. Robert residents and about a half-dozen people were turned away by poll workers because they don’t live inside the city.
“If their name is not in the book, we usually just ask them if they live in the city limits or not,” said poll worker Kim Combs. “Most of the time they smile and leave, but sometimes they’re not sure so we have to call down to the courthouse to check.”
Poll worker Jim Phillips said he wasn’t surprised by the low turnout, but was disappointed.
“It’s been slow but consistent,” Phillips said.
One of those voters was Jim Rogers, a Fort Leonard Wood civilian employee who has lived in St. Robert about six years.
“I think it’s an important issue and something that will benefit the city, so I wanted to come out and support it,” Rogers said. “The community outside of the post needs places for its children, adults and youth.”
Rogers noted that even though he works on Fort Leonard Wood, he’s one of many area residents who isn’t active duty military and isn’t a retiree.
“I’m not retired military, so there are a lot of services on post that I don’t have access to, and there are others in the community like me,” Rogers said. “We need to provide things for our own residents.”
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THIS ARTICLE: Saint Robert park tax vote turnout light so far Tuesday; polls close at 7 pm
Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2009 6:23 pm
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