Two ballot initiatives go in front of Hannibal voters on Tuesday
Published 12:00 am Saturday, November 1, 2025
HANNIBAL — Voters in Hannibal – both Marion and Ralls county residents – will have the chance to let their voice be heard in Tuesday’s municipal election as two ballot initiatives are put to the people.
Proposition 1 will ask voters to approve a 1/2% sales tax throughout the city in support of public safety agencies. The funds collected from the tax would be deposited into a special fund account separate from the city’s general funds to allow them to be used specifically for costs associated with the city’s police and fire departments.
While the funds will not have specific uses, the intent is to use the money to help with salaries as well as both large equipment like vehicles and individual pieces like ballistic vests or turn-out gear.
The Hannibal City Council proposed the sales tax as it would spread the tax out to guests and tourists visiting the city rather than putting that burden on property owners through new property taxes.
In December of 2024, the Hannibal Fire Department closed one of three stations, citing staffing issues due to difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified firefighters as one of the reasons.
The second initiative, Proposition M would make a change to the Hannibal City Charter to shift the responsibility for naming members of various boards and commissions to the city’s elected mayor rather than the unelected city manager.
The proposition is required since it would be a change to the core city charter and not simply a new ordinance put in place. The appointments that would be affected would be for members of Hannibal’s Board of Public Works, Park Board, Zoning Commission, and Board of Adjustment.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. No elected offices in the city of Hannibal are included on November’s ballot. The next municipal elections are scheduled for April 2026.
Editor’s Note: The Courier-Post print deadline Tuesday is prior to the polls closing in Hannibal. Results will be posted online and in the 11/08 print edition of The Hannibal Courier-Post.
