by Ivan Foley
Landmark editor

Platte County voters in August will decide whether or not to renew the current half cent sales tax for parks, a renewal that could bring in another $91 million for parks in its second ten years.

That’s per a projection released by Platte County Auditor Siobhann Williams at the request of The Landmark. Williams said she would use a methodology of zero park tax growth for 2009 (even though she said park tax collections so far are 4.5% ahead of 2008) and then 4% average growth per year thereafter.

The $91 million would be gross park tax collections. Some tax increment financing (TIF) payments would have to be deducted from that total, usually in the amount of about 10%, which would bring the amount of net park proceeds to $82 million.

When doing his projection on what the proposed 10-year tax renewal would generate, Platte County Parks Director Brian Nowotny used a more conservative growth rate. Using a growth of 3% each year, Nowotny came up with a net of $76 million for parks in the new tax.

By the time the first 10 years of the park tax end in 2010, estimates show the county will have taken in a net of more than $60 million.

If the park tax nets around $60 million in its first ten years of existence, and the renewal generates a net of $76-82 million, Platte County will have had around $136 to $142 million to spend on parks in a 20-year period.

“If the renew vote passes, we will put together a master plan budget, and re-evaluate that long-term budget every year,” Nowotny told The Landmark on Friday.