FAIRMONT, W. Va. — Eight cities received the go-ahead to proceed with parts of their home rule plan.
The Home Rule Municipal Board met with Charles Town, Martinsburg, Nitro, Milton, Parkersburg, Ranson, Vienna and Wheeling at the I-79 Tech Park in Fairmont to evaluate their progress on one type of ordinance.
“The specific ordinance that we focused on today was the tax ordinances where they had either increased their sales tax from six to six and a half or to seven [percent],” Home Rule Board Chair Patsy Trecost said. “They were allowed to go anywhere from zero to one percent above the state [sales tax].”
Most of the new cities into the home rule program proposed a one percent sales tax to be collected with the six percent sales tax imposed by the state, while lowering B&O tax to compensate. Wheeling, one of the original four cities into the program, presented an amendment on their original sales tax ordinance to increase from half a percent to a full one percent.
Before the cities brought their ordinances before the board, they had to meet certain criteria. Requirements included contacting the state tax department with their intentions, holding public hearings on the ordinances and properly notifying the public of these hearings.
“Everybody did meet the expectations of the board and, at the same time through the board, met the expectations of the [home rule] legislation,” Trecost said.
Monday’s approval does not finalize the ordinances, as the cities will have to present to the board again once more of the criteria is met, such as presenting a map clearly showing where the sales tax would be imposed.
“They have to be within their own city limits and they have to work with us and the state to let them know exactly what areas they’ll be collecting that one percent off of above and beyond the six percent they already are,” Trecost said.
For a home rule city to be able to impose a new sales tax by the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, they must notify the state tax commissioner an ordinance has gone through the process and passed by February 1, 150 days before the effective date.
Trecost said the board scheduled its next meeting for January 9 to help facilitate this process, “That way this stays very professional and it stays within the guidelines that we have set and the expectations we have set for the twenty cities.”
The board also decided Monday that after its January meeting, it would then only meet quarterly.