The City of Columbia and the Adair Fiscal Court pay 50% each to jointly fund a moon mission. How many more times does the Columbia resident pay than other Adair Countians?

When City & County go 50-50 on a project, such as when the City Council voted Tuesday night to give $10,000 toward the purchase of new recording equipment for the 9-1-1 system at the Adair County Regional Jail, how many more times does a City of Columbia resident pay on the same project than an Adair Countian living outside Columbia.

To make the math easy, let's set up a hypothetical example: The City of Columbia and Adair County jointly fund a trip to the moon at a cost of $32,000. The City of Columbia pays $16,000. Adair County Fiscal Court pays $16,000.

How many more times does the average Columbia citizen pay than the average resident in other parts of Adair County?

Twice? Because the Columbia resident pays as a Columbia resident and as a County resident?

Sorry. It doesn't work that way.

Picture a table where each resident goes to pay her/his share.

To pay the county's part, everyone, including Columbia residents, walk up to the table and give one dollar. (There are roughly 16,000 people in Adair County). Now the county has its $16,000, and you're through paying as an Adair Countian.

But now those roughly 4,000 Adair Countians who live in Columbia get to pay as residents of Columbia.

1) Each Columbia resident goes to the table and pays $1. They have raised $4,000. We're $12,000 short.

2) Each Columbia resident goes back a second time and pays $1. Good! We raised another $4,000. We're still only $8,000 short.

3) Each Columbia resident goes back a third time and pays $1. Now we're getting somewhere, we raised $12,000. But we're still short $4,000.

4) Each Columbia resident goes back a fourth time and pays $1. Now Columbia residents have raised their $16,000 and Columbia and Adair County are able to finance a trip to the moon.

FINAL SCORE:

Columbia resident pays $5.

Other Adair Countians pay $1.

on any 50-50 cost shares between city and county.

Insurance tax math

Both city, county residents

pay 01.5%

Columbia residents also pay

an additional 11.5%

City residents pay a total of 13.0%

City residents pay 8.66 times as much insurance tax as Adair County residents.

When the City of Columbia voted to double the tax during the early part of current administration, they voted to give the Mayor and Council city paid health insurance.