City Council

According to SFS Architects the city has three options regarding Memorial Hall. Stabilize and mothball the structure for $8.7 million. Rehabilitate and make the building suitable for the public for a price of at least 28 million dollars. Or pay $4.8 million to demolish the 100-year-old hall and make plans for the site's future use.

Perhaps the Joplin City Council was looking for an experienced placeholder when the body selected former council member Anthony Monteleone to serve until April of 2023. Monteleone served a two-year term on the council from 2020 to 2022, choosing not to run for reelection.

The Joplin City Council will appoint a temporary council member who will serve from December 2023 through April 2024. During those five months, the individual will be able to run for the remaining two years of Kate Spencer's time in office. Residents will also elect two general council seats and seats in Zone 3 and 4.

The examination of Joplin’s financial records and management practices won’t get underway until, at the earliest next summer and could take as long as a year to complete.

In August 2015, the Missouri State Auditor's Office found several violations which resulted in the lowest rating possible, poor.

The new justice center will increase workspace and allow the department to hire a new forensics investigator. Due to a lack of space JPD cannot currently hire this position. The new construction would also allow covered parking for the department's fleet of patrol cars. Allowing both the cars and officers to be protected from severe weather and helping protect the vehicles from sleet, ice and snow.

If approved, it would be the second time Joplin residents have re-authorized the Capital Improvement Projects tax after it was first approved in 2004, going into effect the following year. Recent tax increases have been a mixed bag. Proposition Public Safety in August of 2022 and the Memorial Bond in April of the same year failed.

This year, on average Joplin is paying 112% of the Overall Market Average, or 12% higher salaries than nearby cities for similar positions.

The Midwest is known for having low property taxes compared to coastal states. According to an analysis this year from Wallethub, Oklahoma ranked 25th and Missouri 29% for property taxes in the US. Kansas has the highest property tax rates in the Four States and ranks 37th. Arkansas is tied with Arizona for 12th.

The 1.2-mile trail and parking lot has been a long time coming. Funding for the project is from the ½ cent stormwater sales tax that Joplin residents approved in 2011, before the tornado that destroyed ⅓ of the city. Over a year ago, in June of 2022 the city council voted to advance the project.