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Members of the Brandenburg City Council heard several comments related to two new proposed taxes that were on the agenda Monday (12\/9) night.<\/p>\n
A larger than normal crowd filled the seating area of the city maintenance shop, with about dozen citizens made comments to the council. Before those comments, Brandenburg Mayor David Pace explained there had been new developments regarding an earlier meeting of a committee which the tax proposals had originated. The committee members had reworked the occupational tax ordinance to help ease the burden that would be implemented if the council approved the ordinance.<\/p>\n
The committee recommended instead of the original one percent occupational tax, to reduce the occupational tax to one third of a percent on a graduated bases. The new proposal would have implemented a tax rate of zero percent for the year 2025 but would require quarterly reporting to allow the city to get an accurate measurement of income that could have been generated. In 2026, the rate would increase to one third of a percent and quarterly reporting to the city, with council to decide if the rate would be increased to a half percent or remain the same for the year 2027. The revision would also include a salary cap of $75,000. They also revised requirements of financial documents related to reporting to the city clerk. The city clerk and the business owner would work to resolved any questions related to the reporting related to the tax instead of having to review all of the business’s financials.<\/p>\n
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The reduction comes in the wake of comments from a special called meeting held last Wednesday (12\/4) which dealt with a proposed two percent restaurant tax. The committee had reviewed methods related to comments during a public meeting for a “consumptive tax” which in Kentucky results in the closest definition as a restaurant tax, which can only be collected by a tourism bureau. Several restaurant owners and operators raised concern by adding two percent onto their customer’s bill which many believe would hurt and force some restaurants to close. The tax would include traditional and mobile establishments which serve food and beverages within city limits.<\/p>\n
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Among those who spoke at the meeting, Martin Powers, owner of Powers Paper Company and a committee member, spoke to the amendments and admitted that he was dead set against the occupational tax when it was first discussed but now understands the need for additional revenue in order to keep the city’s budget balanced. He said the amendments would provide future city councils a method to help offset the increasing costs of operating the city government.
\nThe majority of others who spoke were vocal against the taxes and called for deeper transparency from city leaders to explain and show where the extra money would be used.<\/p>\n
After the comments, Councilman Bradley Johnson made motions on each ordinance to be tabled to allow the incoming city council to have more time to review and determine what needs to be done with the proposal. Both motions passed on a 4 to 1 vote. Councilwoman Yolonda Clark qualified her vote with comments encouraging citizens and the public to actually get involved and do their research into issues and use a communication method other than social media to understand issues.<\/p>\n
The council is expected to revisit the new taxes during the first few months of the new term.\u00a0In other business, the council voted to conduct a public hearing related to the rezoning of property at 1101 High Street. They also approved the four business licenses which included three food truck vendors.<\/p>\n