City first, then school

Unlike the chicken and egg dilemma, the question about which public vote on a sales tax increase – city of Vandalia or Vandalia School District – is easily answered.
The referendum on an increase proposed by the city of Vandalia is this November.
The referendum on an increase proposed by the Vandalia School District – and other school districts in the county – is next spring.
The Vandalia City Council voted at the end of July to put before the voters next month an increase of one-half of 1 percent in the local sales tax.
Then, in September, the Vandalia Board of Education voted to put on the April 2, 2019, ballot a referendum for a 1-percent increase.
Bond County residents have already approved a 1-percent increase for the Mulberry Grove School District, and school boards in Brownstown, St. Elmo and South Central have joined Vandalia in putting on the ballot next April.
Initially, the city council decided that if its sales tax proposal is passed, the additional revenue generated would help fund the city’s obligations to its police pension fund.
Then, on the evening of the vote, aldermen agreed to split the revenue between the police pension fund and infrastructure.
In making the recommendation for the change, Alderman Steve Barker said, “It would make us better off when we come to (building) a new water plant.”
Mayor Rick Gottman said that the construction cost for a new water plant to replace the aging plant is estimated to be up to $25 million.
Alderman B. John Clark has proposed putting a sales tax increase on the ballot for several years, making the recommendation based on the fact that the city will have to build a new water plant.
Clark said he believes that the sales tax is a more-fair tax, with people coming from out of town, including tourists, helping to generate funds through that tax.
In supporting the motion to put it on the ballot this November, Alderman Dorothy Crawford said the city needs to also address other infrastructure needs, including the replacement of old water mains.
A public vote next spring to increase the sales tax for schools in the county is the second time for such a referendum. In April 2011, voters rejected a 1-percent sales tax, 1,641-1,166.
At the September meeting of the Vandalia Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Garrison said she estimates that an increase would generate about $650,000 a year.
The Vandalia district’s plan calls for half of the new revenue to be used to lower property taxes.
She said that for property with an estimated valuation of $50,000, the property tax relief would be $135.
Being able to lower property taxes by that amount “is compared to spending $13,500 with the 1-percent sales tax,” she said.
“We do talk about it as a property tax swap, but it’s a more equitable swap, because your $135 goes a lot further when it’s a 1-percent sales tax,” Garrison said.
In addition to giving property tax owners some relief, the district would like to use the additional revenue from the sales tax for maintenance of existing facilities and to address future facility needs.
Also, the additional funds could be used for the salary of school resource officer, which is part of the district’s efforts to continually upgrade school safety.
Like Clark, Garrison endorses an increase in the sales tax because out-of-towners, such as those stopping to eat or stay overnight in local hotels, will help to generate new funds.
When the first sales tax increase for schools was on the ballot, six counties had enacted such an increase. Now, almost half of the state’s 102 counties have that sales tax in place.