As Ellis County officials wrestle with the potential for some difficult budget decisions in the coming years, commissioner support for a county-wide sales tax continues to gain traction.
At Monday’s county commission meeting, all three commissioners expressed interest in bringing a county-wide sales tax to the voters.
The county’s major source of revenue is property tax based on assessed valuation and a sales tax would serve as an alternative funding source. Any proposed sales tax would need to be approved by the voters.
County sales tax can be set in quarter-cent increments up to 1 percent.
County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes said Monday, based on tax collections in 2017, a quarter-cent sales tax would have generated about $1.55 million. Commissioner Butch Schlyer said he believes the county needs to do something.
“Following the next couple of budgets that we are going to be doing and the public sees the draconian cuts we’re going to be making, there might be more appetite for a sales tax with the voting public,” Schlyer said, “because it’s going to get bad before it gets any better.”
(Read more: Hays Post)