MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The proposed one percent sales tax is expected to be the main topic of discussion at tonight’s Morgantown City Council meeting.
The sales tax is in it’s second reading and has been met with little to no opposition within council. Conservative estimates predict the city could receive between $5 million and $6 million in revenue each year.
“These revenues, that once enacted, we can pledge them today,” said Brake. “So meaning that we bond on them and that the taxpayers see immediate results, that we can make significant capital improvements by pledging those future revenues to pay for those bonds,” he said.
The sales tax, is being implemented through the Home Rule, which was granted to Morgantown in 2014. With the millions in revenue expecting to come to the city, many capital improvements are could be addressed with the new funding source. Among them, improvements to BOPARC, which have received intense support.
“It could be keeping up the facilities, it could be improving the facilities, it could be expanding,” said Brake about the options BOPARC will have.
Aside from BOPARC, the sales tax is expected to be used for various expenditures throughout Morgantown. $1.25 million of the expected revenue will be used to address police and fire pensions, $250,000 will be directed for city employee retirement benefits and additional funds will be placed in the city’s financial stabilization fund.
“Especially in the context of capital improvements I would leave that open,” he said. “But through the funding that we do through capital escrow, for instance, as we are embarking on the runway extension, this gives us greater latitude to use the funds to pay the local magistrates required,” he said.
The one percent sales tax would go into effect in 2020, which will also lead to a reduction in B&O taxes for retail (.5 percent to .45 percent) and service (1 percent to .9 percent).