The Crawford County Commission invited residents to listen and ask questions on Dec. 2 regarding a possible use tax. Commissioners plan to continue discussions during the December weekly meetings, at which time the public may give feedback.

“We want to get the public’s thoughts and also give a little more information,” said Steve Black, Crawford County Presiding Commissioner. 

In April 2025, the Crawford County Commission asked voters to approve a use tax, but the measure failed to pass. While no decision has been made about putting the use tax on the ballot for voters to consider, commissioners have until Dec. 30 to decide if they want the measure on the April 7, 2026, ballot.

In its basic form, a use tax is defined as a compensating tax to the sales tax, and is typically assessed on the storage, use, and consumption of goods within a state when no sales tax is paid. It is often viewed as a complementary tax, as the end result is to promote fairness between in-state and out-of-state businesses. Also, a person does not pay both sales and use tax on the same item. It is either one or the other. 

“With the advent of internet sales, everybody knows what it's done to the mom and pop and brick and mortar stores," Black said. “When I grew up, there was a clothing store in every town in this county. Now there's not any clothing stores in any town in this county. You really didn't have to go outside of the county to get what you needed.  If you wanted to buy a suit, you knew where to go in the county to buy it, but those days are long past, and that tax left when those stores left. Now everybody does it online. So having a use tax would even the playing field for local businesses, and it would bring that money back into the county. Having a use tax would be like you are buying in Crawford County even though you're not.” 

Should the county get a use tax, Black said the money would be used in the following ways:  60 percent of the use tax money would go to roads, 20 percent to general revenue for employee benefits and raises and 20 percent to the courthouse and jail. 

“The situation is our sales tax is not increasing," he said. “It’s either holding steady or maybe even dropping a little. And that is a big portion of our revenue.”

Bourbon is the only municipality in the county to have a use tax so far. Previously, Black said that a use tax could increase the county budget by $900,000 to $1 million if passed. 

The Crawford County Commission meets every Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the county courthouse in Steelville.