Missouri Statute 231.444 Gives Worth County Authority to Levy Gravel Tax

County road tax--Carter, Holt, Knox, Schuyler, Scotland and Worth counties--special road rock fund.
231.444. 1. In addition to other levies authorized by law, the governing body of any county of the third classification without a township form of government having a population of less than six thousand inhabitants according to the most recent decennial census may by ordinance levy and impose a tax pursuant to this section which shall not exceed the rate of one dollar on each acre of real property in the county which is classified as agricultural and horticultural property pursuant to section 137.016.

2. The proceeds of the tax authorized pursuant to this section shall be collected by the county collector and remitted to the county treasurer who shall deposit such proceeds in a special fund to be known as the "Special Road Rock Fund". All moneys in the special road rock fund shall be appropriated by the county governing body for the sole purpose of purchasing road rock to be placed on county roads within the boundaries of the county.

3. The ordinance levying and imposing a tax pursuant to subsection 1 of this section shall not be effective unless the county governing body submits to the qualified voters of the county a proposal to authorize the county governing body to levy and impose the tax at an election permitted pursuant to section 115.123. The ballot of submission proposing the tax shall be in substantially the following form:

Shall the county of .......... (county's name) be authorized to levy and impose a tax on all real property in the county which is classified as agricultural or horticultural property at a rate not to exceed .......... (rate of tax) cents per acre with all the proceeds of the tax to be placed in the "Special Road Rock Fund" and used solely for the purpose of purchasing road rock to be placed on county roads within the boundaries of the county?

â ã YES â ã NO

4. If a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the proposal vote "YES", then the governing body of the county may by ordinance levy and impose the tax authorized by this section in an amount not to exceed the rate proposed in the ballot of submission. If a majority of the qualified voters of the county voting on the proposal vote "NO", then the governing body of the county shall not levy and impose such tax. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a rejected proposal from being resubmitted to the qualified voters of the county at an election permitted pursuant to section 115.123.