As it stands now, the final hurdle for Bridgeport to impose a sales tax increase of up to 1 percent is now left to the City Council. On Monday, Bridgeport officials met with the West Virginia Municipal Home Rule Board to make a presentation to amend its Home Rule status in order to enact the sales tax proposal when needed.

 

Bridgeport Assistant City Manager Jimmy Smith said the Board gave the City unanimous approval of the amendment proposal. What that means is that this coming Monday the Bridgeport City Council will have the first of two readings of an ordinance that would allow them to put the sales tax in place.

 

“The meeting went extremely well,” said Smith of the session that took place in Charleston. “The (Home Rule) Board was very receptive to the concept.”

 

The concept involves of enacting the sales tax of up to 1 percent that would primarily produce funds to both construct and continue the ongoing operations of a proposed indoor recreation complex. The complex, as has been discussed, would be looked on 20-plus acres situated at the Bridgeport Recreation Complex located just off Route 131.

 

Smith said City Manager Kim Haws made an oral presentation to the board. He said it lasted about 15 minutes and was then followed by questions from the board, including board chairman Robert “Bob” Kiss.

 

“The main question they had was relating to the bonding in how we would fund the indoor recreation complex. Chairman Kiss just wanted us to assure him that the process was a legal process,” said Smith.

 

Smith said the process has already been utilized by another city. He pointed to the City of Charleston and the multi-million dollar renovation and remodeling of the Charleston Civic Center.

 

Another question related to how the city came up with the figure of $3.1 million as the figure they believe will be produced by the sales tax increase. Smith answered the question much the same as Haws and others have answered in the past in both public forums and to members of the media that have inquired.

 

“We used a couple of other city models and how they did their sales tax calculations. Basically, we explained that the number was our best educated estimate of what we think it’s going to bring it,” said Smith. “There’s really no way of knowing until you begin to have time of collecting it to get a grasp on what it could produce.”

 

Among the cities Smith talked to were Martinsburg and Vienna and the calculations they used for projections. Both of those cities, Smith said, have enacted a sales tax increase and have just recently started collecting.

 

Multiple cities have, or are considering, sales tax proposals under Home Rule, which is a pilot program started by the West Virginia Legislature several years ago that give municipalities more local control of the governing process by having procedures different from state law. Under Home Rule, a sales tax increase is allowed by a reduction in or a complete removal of certain business and occupation taxes. Bridgeport eliminated B&O tax on industrial entities under the proposal.

 

City Council will have to pass the ordinance making the increase allowable on two readings. The first could come Monday at the 7 p.m. session. The second reading would then be up at the Dec. 14 meeting of Council if that is the timetable followed. Council will discuss the timetable at Wednesday’s strategic planning meeting.

 

So what is the earliest residents and others would see the increase? According to the city, it would be July 1, 2016 and they would have to notify the West Virginia Tax Department of its intent at the first of the year as the state tax department requires 180 days notification prior to implementation.

 

The sales tax issue has been a much-discussed topic in Bridgeport and drew a large crowd during a recent public hearing. Feedback from there, as well as other areas, show most would like to see an indoor recreation complex. However, there isn't nearly as much consensus on using the sales tax to fund it. Haws has said that the city has explored options and this is the best - and perhaps only - way to fund the construction and ongoing maintenance and operations.

 

Editor's Note: Assistant City Manager Jimmy Smith is shown above, while City Manager Kim Haws is shown in the bottom photo.