BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The first step toward adding a one percent sales tax to one of the original four cities in the Home Rule Pilot Program will possibly be taken Monday night.
During a special meeting of city council, an ordinance authorizing submission of an application to modify it’s Home Rule Plan will be on First Reading after a public hearing regarding the proposed tax.
What makes Bridgeport’s sales tax stand out from other proposed measures from other cities is that it is tied to only one project, a indoor recreation complex currently in the planning stages.
“The indoor recreation facility will be virtually impossible without imposing a sales tax,” a fact sheet on the tax released by the city stated. ” This tax will ensure that no other city services, that our residents expect, will be reduced or altered.”
The cost of the project has not yet been determined, nor has the estimated revenue from the tax. City officials estimate it will take 4-6 quarters after implementation to determine.
For this reason especially, council members like L.J. Maxey are encouraging the public to voice their opinions at the public hearing.
“I want to hear from them before I make my decision,” he said on a recent edition of “The Mike Queen Show.” “[The rec center] is something that the people of Bridgeport have been wanting. I want it, I’d love to have it, but how do I want to pay for it and how to the residents of Bridgeport want to pay for it.”
The proposed sales tax, which would be implemented on July 1, 2016, is paired with the elimination of Manufacturing B&O taxes, which the city claims will attract new businesses.
There has been criticism voiced in the early stages of the proposal, particularly with questions of what will become of the tax once the project is completed.
Maxey hopes these and other concerns will be brought to the table.
“We do have to be wise in spending my money, your money, the taxpayers money,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to intent to find out, what people want.”
The special meeting is scheduled for Monday night at 7 p.m. in council’s chambers.