Mo State Auditor Releases Closing Audit of Highway 65 and Truman Dam Access Road Transportation District
Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway today released a closure audit of the Transportation Development District (TDD) of US Highway 65 and the Truman Dam, located in Warsaw. State law requires an audit of a TDD before proceeding with dissolution.
US Highway 65 and Truman Dam Access Road TDD was formed to improve roadways with the construction of Commercial Street, Polk Street, storm drainage, and northbound and southbound freeway ramps. The City of Warsaw is the public entity with jurisdiction over the local part of the project and serves as the local transport authority. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) is the entity with jurisdiction over the state portion of the project. The project was completed in 2005, and the City of Warsaw and the MHTC subsequently accepted ownership of the project.
From its inception in 2003 through June 30, 2022, U.S. Highway 65 and Truman Dam Access Road TDD received $3,723,178 in sales tax revenue from a 1/2 cent sales tax on all taxable sales within district boundaries and paid $1,905,534 in project costs and $1,079,268 in interest charges.
As of January 2020, all project costs and debts have been met from revenue collected by TDD. However, the board of directors waited over two years, until June 2022, to approve the cancellation of the sales tax and notify the Department of Revenue to stop collecting the district tax. The district attorney said the delay was due to council not meeting between 2012 and June 2022. This council delay resulted in significant public overtaxation. About $700,000 in unnecessary sales taxes was collected by the district through the end of September.
Because all outstanding project costs and debts have been satisfied, the state auditor’s office has determined that the council can proceed to abolish the tax district. After payment of the final costs and district professional fees, the remaining balance of more than $600,000 will be distributed to the City of Warsaw under state law.
A full copy of the report is available here.
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