Cooper County Sales Tax Up 7/8 Cent for 911 and Ambulances

Shoppers in Boonville, Pilot Grove and the rest of Cooper County have paid 7/8 of a cent more sales tax on every dollar since Oct. 1. Two increases voters approved on April 7 took effect that day: 3/8 cent for the county’s 911 service and 1/2 cent for the Cooper County Ambulance District, according to the Missouri Department of Revenue’s list of local rate changes for October through December.

What the new rates are

The department’s October rate table puts the combined state, county and district rate in unincorporated Cooper County at 7.1 percent, up from 6.225 percent in the July table. City rates rose by the same 0.875 points:

• Boonville: 9.1 percent, up from 8.225. Purchases inside the Boonville Riverfront Transportation Development District or the Hail Ridge Community Improvement District carry 10.1 percent.
• Pilot Grove: 9.1 percent, up from 8.225. Pilot Grove voters also extended two existing half-cent city taxes, for capital improvements and transportation, which did not change the rate.
• Blackwater: 9.1 percent, up from 8.225.
• Bunceton: 8.1 percent, up from 7.225.
• Otterville and Prairie Home: 8.1 percent.
• Wooldridge, Pleasant Green and Bellair: 7.1 percent, up from 6.225.

Groceries are taxed too. The county’s food rate went from 3.225 to 4.1 percent, and Boonville’s from 5.225 to 6.1 percent. Neither new tax applies to domestic utilities such as electric and gas bills, the department’s notice says.

Online purchases

Both increases also apply to the local use tax, which is charged on goods shipped into the county from sellers outside Missouri. The ambulance district is adding a 3/4 percent use tax to match its sales tax. The county’s use tax rate is now 7.1 percent, the same as its sales tax, up from 5.975 percent in the July table. In Boonville the use tax went from 7.975 to 9.1 percent.

How the votes went

On April 7, Proposition 1 asked whether the county should raise its sales tax by 0.375 percent to fund 911. It passed 1,443 to 969, about 60 percent in favor, according to the county’s election results site. The Cooper County Ambulance Sustainability and Growth Proposition passed 1,442 to 975. Turnout was 20.5 percent: 2,439 ballots among 11,869 registered voters.

The revenue department’s notice classifies the 3/8 cent as an additional county general sales tax. The ballot language, on the sample ballot the county published, said the money is for 911.

Why the county asked

The State Auditor’s Oct. 7 report on Cooper County, which rated the county’s finances poor, said the Enhanced 911 Fund was in poor condition because the old 911 sales tax did not cover the cost of the service, and that the general fund transferred $310,000 in 2025 to keep it afloat. In its response, the County Commission said the April vote raised the 911 tax to 5/8 cent and should cover the fund’s needs for years.

There are no county tax questions on the Nov. 3 ballot in Cooper County.

By Roman Clarkson