Columbia residents on Nov. 4 will vote on a proposed municipal retailers’ occupation tax and municipal service occupation tax of .25 percent, with funds to be used on municipal expenditures, operations, public infrastructure or property tax relief.

The tax would be applied to tangible items sold within city limits, but would not be applied to the sale of food for human consumption to be consumed off the premises where it is sold, prescription and nonprescription medicines, and some medical appliances. It also would not apply to anything titled by the state of Illinois, which includes automobiles.

There are three statewide advisory questions on the ballot that all voters will be asked to consider. Such questions are non-binding, and the results will serve to provide lawmakers with additional information on the desires of the voters but will not require any action.

The first question relates to minimum wage: “Shall the minimum wage in Illinois for adults over the age of 18 be raised to $10 per hour by January 1, 2015?”

Currently, minimum wage for workers who are 18 years of age and older is $8.25, and $7.75 for those under 18 who do not earn tips.

The second question is about prescription birth control: “Shall any health insurance plan in Illinois that provides prescription drug coverage be required to include prescription birth control as part of that coverage?”

The Affordable Care Act requires group plans to provide coverage of preventative health services including prescription birth control, but an exemption exists for non-profit religious organizations including churches and other organizations that have religious objections to the use of birth control.

The third question relates to school funding: “Should the Illinois Constitution be amended to require that each school district receive additional revenue, based on their number of students, from an additional 3 percent tax on income greater than $1 million?”

In Illinois, the majority of school funding comes from taxes paid by property owners within each school’s taxing district. Additionally, Illinois imposes a flat-rate income tax. This proposal would amend the state constitution to allow for gradually higher tax rates, similar to the federal income tax system.

In addition, voters will be asked to vote on two potential changes to the Illinois Constitution. One will ask voters if they are in favor of expanding certain rights already granted to crime victims in the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, and give crime victims the ability to enforce these rights in court.

The second asks voters if they are in favor of adding a new section to the Suffrage and Elections Article that prohibits any law that affects the rights of eligible voters to cast ballots based on race, color, ethnicity, language, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation or income.