Kirksville Commuters' Cars Are In Danger

The condition of Kirksville roads can be harmful to residents and their cars, but a tax increase for roads has not been on any ballots lately.

As of now, there is not enough funding for the goal made by the Public Works Director, Glenn Balliew. Since there is not enough funding for the roads to improve as much as people want them to, the people must decide if the conditions should stay the same or if there should be a tax increase to help with road repairs. Balliew could not be reached for further comment on a tax increase.

Without these road repairs, citizens are in danger of having damage done to their cars. According to Caleb Sterm from Kirksville Automotive, potholes have been the culprit of damages such as suspension, tires, sway links, alignment, and even a damaged exhaust pipe that cost over $1000 to repair and a cracked rim of a tire that set the owner back $260. The estimated costs for the other repairs according to Sterm are as follows: alignment repairs cost between $60 and $80, sway links can be anything between $60 and $200, and tires are over $100. Repairs such as these are very common in Kirksville. “In this shop alone, we probably put one or two sets of sway links in a car [per] week,” said Sterm. While that may be good for business, it is not ideal for Kirksville commuters.

As of April 2016, the city of Kirksville has approved two sales taxes that could benefit the roads according to the Assistant City Manager of Kirksville, Ashley Young. However, the funds from this tax has not been put into effect yet, so it is unclear how that tax has affected the roads as of now. There has not yet been a tax increase for strictly the roads as of now, but there is a specific way in which a tax increase could appear on a ballot as explained by Young.

The process of a proposition appearing on a ballot starts with buzz. Groups such as the Airport and Transportation Commission (ATC) bring attention to the issues. The idea of a tax is formed and eventually brought up to the city council. If the city council approves the motion to put this on the ballot, then citizens can choose to vote for or against the notion.

Residents such as Raquel Pitty-Diaz have expressed concern about the potholes and potential damages to their vehicles. “I’m a registered voter here, and I would definitely vote to increase taxes to fix the roads,” said Pitty-Diaz. “Obviously I don’t want to pay for new tires over and over again.”