Aldermen endorse 11-cent property tax increase for city

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

NUNLEY

City officials meeting on their 2003-2004 fiscal year budget said Monday they need more revenue and offered either a property tax increase or a sales tax increase as the options.

Members of the Finance Committee formally approved an 11-cent property tax increase recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen by a 2-1 vote.

The committee also entertained a proposal from one alderman who said he strongly supports a local option sales tax increase as an alternative to increasing property taxes.

Voting “yes” on the recommendation for a property tax increase were Vice Mayor and Finance Committee chair Patti Nunley and Aldermen Michael Chrisawn. Opposed was Donald Hillis, who said he supported a local option sales tax increase.

Officials took no action on the sales tax proposal, but several aldermen said Monday they would be willing to support the proposal and would be willing to ask the Election Commission for a sales tax referendum for the people to decide.

Aldermen indicated they could act within the next several days to approve measures asking the Election Commission to schedule that referendum for as early as August.

However, they also said they wanted to gauge what was happening at the county level, given county officials had also proposed a property tax increase and were discussing the county budget at the same time during the Warren County Commission meeting Monday.