Dawson Mayor Breanna Gonzalez is collecting signatures. Even though Dawson’s population numbers a mere 139 souls, Gonzalez is looking to gather nearly 2,000 names on a petition calling for a special election to renew the town’s local option sales tax (LOST).
“This is just for Dawson to continue to receive a percentage of that tax,” Gonzalez told the Perry City Council Monday. “No taxes are increasing in this vote. Only Dawson residents will vote on it.”
Gonzalez was in Perry drumming up support and signatures for the 1 percent LOST tax. Dawson’s LOST took effect Jan. 1, 2008, making it the first city in Dallas County to take advantage of Project Destiny, as the LOST program was then called. Dawson’s deal included a 10-year sunset provision, so it will need to be renewed for another decade beginning Jan. 1, 2018.
“The local option sales tax has meant a tremendous amount to Dawson,” Gonzalez said. “Being a small town, we only receive about $28,000 in property taxes to operate the city. With the continued sunset this December, the town hopes to continue improving health and safety and provide property tax relief to the residents.”
Gonzalez said she aims to collect at least 1,929 signatures, which equals 5 percent of the 38,588 ballots cast in Dallas County in the November 2016 general election, which saw a turnout of about 71 percent of the county’s 54,487 registered voters.
Once the petition is presented to the Dallas County Board of Supervisors, the supervisors will call the special LOST election, Gonzalez said. She repeatedly emphasized the vote is not for a new tax or a tax increase but a simple continuation of a tax that people have already been paying for 10 years, Gonzalez said.
“We need this on the ballot for Dawson residents to vote to keep getting a percentage of local option sales tax coming to Dawson,” she said. Dawson’s LOST revenues can be used for property tax relief, health and safety purposes and recreational projects.
Dawson’s LOST tax adds 1 percent to the 6 percent sales tax collected by the state. Perry also collects a 1 percent LOST tax that took effect July 1, 2010, and that sunsets Dec. 31, 2019. Like the Dawson leadership, the Perry leadership is already planning a similar renewal campaign.
