A sales tax in Boone County raised the most money for children and families in need in 2023 since the tax was established in 2013, according to a new report from the Boone County Community Services Department.
The department released the 2023 report on Thursday, outlining how it uses revenue that goes toward two funds, including the Children’s Services Fund.
The Children’s Services Fund serves youth and families in the Boone County area by providing services and programs intended to help live better lives. Boone County citizens passed the fund in 2012.
With the fund came the Boone County Children’s Services sales tax in 2013, and the Boone County Children’s Services Board, which oversees the fund, began contracting with programs in 2014. Tax revenue from the one-fourth-cent sales tax supports the Children’s Services Fund.
Since the fund began in 2013, tax revenue has generated an average of $8 million a year, and tax revenue grew by 21% between 2022 and 2023, according to the report.
That means the tax generated $2 million more than the average. During this time, Boone County began collecting internet-use tax for online sales, which contributed to the growth.
In 2023, the Children’s Services Fund generated $10,977,086 in revenue, with 93% of that coming from the sales tax. The department used $10.6 million to give back to contracted services for children, families and individuals, according to the report.
The fund served more than 81,000 people in Boone County, with 80% of them being from Columbia, according to the report.
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The Columbia Boys and Girls Club received around $230,000 from the fund, where it utilized the money in programs like Great Futures Start Here. The program is a youth and family support program that provides after-school and summer programming.
Administrators like Martina Hoyt-Vail, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Columbia area, see the fund as a cornerstone for their organization’s mission.
“It’s really important for programs like ours and many other nonprofits in the community that serve youth and families,” Hoyt-Vail said. “The Boone County Children’s Services fund is an integral part of us being able to provide low- or no-cost programming to all of the youth in our community.”
Hoyt-Vail said after-school programs are essential to youth development because it takes enrichment beyond classroom time.
“School time is only a small portion of their day,” Hoyt-Vail said. “After-school and summer programming helps them to engage in safe, fun and exciting ways that we can try to deter bad behaviors.”
The fund allows programs like Great Futures Start Here to teach children about basic life values and how to live healthier lives.
“We are focusing on providing academic enrichment, positive values, healthy decision-making and exposing children to new and interesting opportunities or experiences that they may not have options to otherwise,” Hoyt-Vail said. “Decisions like what we put in our bodies to keep us healthy and how to work through social conflicts with others and ourselves to regulate our own emotions.”
The Children’s Service Fund gives many programs and organizations in Boone County beyond the Boys and Girls Club the ability to exist.
“The importance of our program is to ensure we provide great futures for our youth,” Hoyt-Vail said. “We want to empower our youth to understand who they are and who they can become.”