THIRD TIME IS CHARM FOR SALES TAX
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 -- 2:41 PM
The Clark County Board passed an ordinance implementing the optional half-percent sales tax Wednesday morning.Following a procedural gaffe at the last meeting, the board considered the third reading of the ordinance at a special meeting Wednesday.
The tally was 15-12 with two absent.
The tax will go into effect on January 1, 2009.
At that point, Clark will become the 61st county to impose the tax, which is piggybacked with the state's 5-percent tax.
The point didn't impress opponents, like Margaret Grottke of Chili.
"You say, 'all the other counties have the sales tax'," Grottke started, "My old mother replied that excuse this way: I suppose if everyone else jumped off a cliff, you'd do it, too."
"Why must you strive for conformity, like a cookie cutter?"
Other opponents renewed their call for the board to send the issue back to voters in an advisory referendum.
While disputed by opponents, the UW-Extension estimates Clark County will raise around $1.6-million through the tax.
But, questions were raised about the use of that extra revenue.
Finance Committee Charles Harwick of the Town of Dewhurst explained that, with the current state-imposed 2-percent limit on county levies, the extra revenue would be used to patch a projected budget deficit, but if the levy limit was lifted, the revenue would be used to reduce tax levies.
Harwick said it was easy to oppose the tax, but he heard very few viable solutions to the county's budget woes.
"Everyone one of you people that are sitting on the County Board and voting 'no' need to start coming to the Finance Committee meetings and telling us what we're going to do to cut the operating costs of this county by $1.6-million," he said.
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