Council considering asking for tax increase

[petemoss]

They have ALREADY threated us with not crediting residents who work elsewhere, and pay taxes where they work, if the LAST TAX INCREASE DID NOT PASS! So I voted for it. ATTENTION ALL GOVERNMENT: just going to the people to get money may be easy, but we are taxed ENOUGH now! Was not the trash pickup part of our taxes?? Now we have to pay. ( you can't burn trash in the city...........how convientient......) I commend those city council people who try to resist the temptation to get all the money from the residents. Stop taxing us. We don't like it.

[EAV]

<moved (and combined with) Signs, signs... >

VC
                     

[Valley Cat]

Safety/Service Director Bud Elmlinger reports Reading must raise revenue by $400,000 per year. Raising the earning tax from 1.5% to 1.75% will increase annual revenue by $700,000 per year. Mayor Bemmes recommended increasing the tax to 2.0% and council voted 5-2 (with Mr. Nordin and Mr. Gertz the no votes) to have the Law Director to draw up an ordinance (This was all done at a special council meeting on January 24) to place it on the May Ballot.

Another suggestion was to change the "reciprocity agreement" (credit for taxes paid when a resident works in another city) from 1.5% to 1% which will generate $360,000 a year for Reading.

At the regular meeting on Tuesday, February 7, neither passed at that meeting.