SPOT Tax approved for general ballot

The county commissioners approved a resolution on Monday that will officially place the Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (SPOT) on this year’s ballot.

Voters will be asked to approve a total of $7.5 million, which will be shared between the four municipalities and the counties such that each entity receives $1.5 million. This is an increase from the $1.25 per entity approved on the 2014 ballot.

SPOT, better known as the “sixth penny” or “one percent tax,” has a strictly defined purpose. It has been utilized to provide extra revenue for counties and towns since it was authorized by the legislature in 1984; in Crook County, it is an additional penny on top of the obligatory four percent state sales tax and the one percent general purpose tax.

SPOT is different to those first five pennies in that, instead of running for a certain period of time, voters are asked to approve a specific dollar amount that must be spent on a specific set of projects. The tax will only remain in effect until this amount has been collected and, once the total has been reached, no matter how long that takes, the tax will automatically switch off.

Entities have focused on infrastructure needs for the revenue that would be raised by the $7.5 million request. The towns and county have created lists that include such needs as roads, sewer and water.

The measure will be placed on the general election ballot later this year.