Merriam outlines three sales-tax options amid downtown planning

Merriam City Administrator Chris Engel outlined three possible sales-tax rates in connection with downtown planning at the City Council’s Oct. 12, 2026, meeting. Estimated annual yields range from about $2.6 million to $5.2 million. The meeting summary says no action was requested on the presentation.

The options are a quarter-cent tax estimated to raise about $2.6 million annually, a three-eighths-cent tax estimated at $3.9 million, and a half-cent tax estimated at $5.2 million. The half-cent option is twice the quarter-cent rate and has twice its estimated annual yield. These are annual estimates, not a total financing plan for downtown work.

The presentation did not approve a tax or establish a ballot measure. If a tax were later pursued and approved, it could affect people making taxable purchases in Merriam. The figures do not establish that tax revenue would be earmarked for the downtown plan.

Downtown concepts remain under consideration i

The Johnson County Post reported that the downtown master-plan steering committee recommended the most expensive of three concepts, with an estimated cost of $196 million to $299 million. The reported concept could combine redevelopment and flood-risk work, including housing and retail and raising the area out of the Turkey Creek floodplain. Those are conceptual features, not final project provisions or an adopted budget.

The City separately reports a $247 million estimate, shared in late August, for completing a USACE flood-mitigation project. That is a distinct project estimate, not the cost of the reported downtown concept.

The City’s downtown plan page says the plan covers land use, business development, infrastructure, public space and streetscape. The City says no final downtown decisions have been made and is gathering input from residents, businesses and other community stakeholders. It expects the plan to be finalized in November 2026; that is a target, not confirmation that it is complete.