McKinney proposes extending city tax

Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney presented the city council with a proposal at the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, to extend the city’s existing half-cent sales and use tax for an additional 15 years.

McKinney told the council that extending the tax, which is currently scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2030, would allow the city to issue bonds for various improvement projects. The bonds would then be repaid using revenue generated through the sales and use tax.

“This will still have us in a good position as far as taxes overall,” McKinney said.

If the city doesn’t extend the sales and use tax, McKinney said, another option that the council might have to consider is adopting a separate tax for streets.

“Our streets are getting in shape where they need a lot of work,” McKinney said.

An extension of the tax would need approval from voters in the city. In addition to a proposed ordinance that would extend the tax, McKinney also presented council members with a separate proposal for a special election to be held on May 13.

The council took no action on the proposals, with McKinney saying he was presenting the measures for discussion only. He asked council members to study the proposals before their next regular meeting on Feb. 18.

“We need to have it done by the end of the month,” McKinney said. “We’re not going to be able to do it without suspending the rules anyway, so I’d rather you all study it, get real familiar with it, and then if you want to proceed with it, we’ll proceed at the next meeting and just do all three (readings).”

The Berryville City Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, at City Hall.