By David Knox
The Clay City Council held a public meeting Monday to discuss two possible new taxes: a 1- or 2-cent sales tax increase and a 5-mill property tax.
About 40 people were in attendance as well as Mayor Charles Webster, City Manager Ronnie Dixon, all five members of the city council and City Attorney Alan Summers.
The city currently has a 2-cent sales tax which, combined with state and county taxes, gives Clay a total sales tax of 8 cents. Dixon said raising the property tax would generate approximately $500,000 and a 1-cent tax would generate another $500,000 per year. A 2-cent increase would raise about $1 million.
The city is not required to hold a voting referendum on either the sales tax or the property tax. The public hearing, Webster said, was to inform the citizens and to hear their opinions.
Jefferson County has not made public property values by city in a couple years, so Clay officials had to pore over individual property records from the county and voter registration records from the state to arrive at the number of homes within the city limits and their worth. Dixon said the average home value is $120,000 and there are 2,900 houses in the city.
Those in attendance were asked to submit their questions in writing and then Dixon or Webster or the appropriate council member addressed the question.
Many of the questions asked centered around how the money would be used. Webster and several of the council members especially cited hiring more deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to improve the police presence and public works projects, including road paving and clearing, and parks and recreation projects.
The city currently contracts with the county for two deputies. Adding two more would give Clay 24-7 law enforcement protection, Webster said.
Other questions indicated dissatisfaction with Jefferson County’s lack of responsibility for projects, mistrust of the council and disapproval of more taxes in general.
“We don’t want this money for ourselves,” Webster said. “We want it for Clay. We need other funds for these things, to help the schools. I want to be adding services you can see. We can tell the county it’s their responsibility, but that’s not going to get it done. We need to do what we need to do for our city.
“I probably hate taxes as much as you do, but I’m looking at this little city and what we can do.”
Said Dixon, “We can maintain what we have here if expenses stay the same, but we know they won’t.”
There was no public discourse during the meeting, although Councilman Ben Thackerson said he’d like to hear feedback at the conclusion of the nearly two-hour meeting after all the questions were asked and answered. No one responded publicly, although several residents on both sides debated the pros and cons in the chambers after the meeting ended.
No final decision was made by the council Monday night. The next council meeting is Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Clay City Hall.