By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

Johnson County officials want to siphon $750 million from taxpayers over the next 25 years, ostensibly for public safety needs. That's outrageous. Especially when cities will skim more than $250 million of that money.

The Aug. 5 sales-tax election is flawed in many ways, but two that stick out are:

1. The actual capital improvements projects -- including an expanded jail and crime lab -- would cost around $130 million. The county could bond those projects at a cost of about $10 million a year.

Yet the county wants to collect $20 million a year or so from taxpayer, with part of the money going to operate the new projects. that would eliminate the sales tax as a source for any capital improvements in the future.

2. The cities don't have to spend the money for public safety. Led by Overland Park, some cities aren't telling the public up front what they will buy with the money.

Essentially, the state law that allows the cities to take a 36 percent cut of this county sales tax just pumps a little extra money into the cities' coffers.

They don't have to campaign for the money or even pledge to voters what they will do with it.

If voters reject the tax, the county will have to come up with a better way to fund the public-safety projects.