City sales tax up half-cent Tuesday

But don't worry about the grocery bill. Groceries purchased for home consumption are exempt from the half-cent and the current one-cent tax.

Other exempt items include medicine, prescriptions, motor fuels, new and used farm equipment and property delivered outside of city limits.

Most shoppers may not even notice the tax. With the tax, a pair of jeans at $14.99 will cost a total of $16.04 instead of $15.96, and a pop purchased from a gas station will cost about a penny more.

McCook city voters approved the half-cent tax, along with the continuation of the one-cent tax, in the November 2007 special election. Adding in the Nebraska sales tax at 5.5 percent, this brings the total sales tax rate to seven percent.

Other communities with the seven percent include North Platte, Kearney, Grand Island and Holdrege.

The half-cent tax is projected to bring about $650,000 in revenue to the city.

This will be split between the city for improvements, such as street upgrades and economic development program and plans.

The McCook City Council will allocate these funds when it works out the budget this summer.

In 2007, the city garnered a total of $1.37 million from the one-cent city sales tax. Half of that, at $685,765 went to property tax relief and the other half to infrastructure improvements. These improvements included Phase I of J Street, from West 10th to U.S. Highway 83.

The city sales tax, along with federal highway dollars, will also fund two street projects later this summer: J Street, from Westridge to Norris Avenue, slated to begin late August and the re-surfacing of Norris Avenue, which is expected to be completed by August 10, before construction on J Street.

For June, the city of McCook received $121,218 from the one-cent city sales tax.

McCook Sales Tax Receipts

2007

January: $111,301

February: $136,434

March: $103,081

April: $98,407

May: $120,487

June: $105,170

July: $121,895

August: $128,333

September: $123,858

October: $129,401

November: $127,498

December: $116,252

2008

January: $111,453

February: $144,406

March: $106,587

April: $114,964

May: $118,331