This morning on June 1, 2018, City Manager Mike Matthes gave the State of the City Address to discuss the lack of money available to meet the needs of Columbia residents. Matthes says decades of relying on sales taxes and city growth to keep property taxes at a minimum is no longer a sustainable tactic due to an increase in online purchasing.
“Our community is starving for more community policing and better roads,” said Matthes, “Unfortunately there are fewer dollars to do that, and there will be less each year until we either pay sales taxes on internet purchases or switch sales taxes.”
Although the city’s financial resources are low, moral is high for a future of city employees after a successful year for the Community Scholars Program. Assistant City Counselor Rose Wibbenmeyer partnered with Hickman High School to increase student eligibility for Missouri’s A+ program by providing job shadowing opportunities in a variety of job choices. This allows kids to get hands on job training so they can start thinking about what they might want to do career-wise in the future.
“Maybe we’ll even spark an interest in these students to come work for the city someday,” Matthes said.