Public hearings slated for Clark County sales tax continuation

The first hearing is being held tonight.

The Board of Clark County Commissioners will be holding public hearings this month to discuss the continuation of a temporary sales tax.

Clark County has a maximum sales tax rate of 7.25%, with more than 5% going to the state and 1.5% going to the county.

Commissioners are not considering increasing the tax, but making it permanent.

“We’d just be holding it where it is at, on a permanent basis,” Clark County Commissioner Melanie Wilt said.

The county has a sales tax rate of 1%, plus an additional temporary tax rate of a half-percent that commissioners voted in 2016 to extend for five years. Money collected from sales tax makes up roughly 60% of the county’s general fund revenue.

When voting in 2016 on the five-year extension of the temporary sales tax rate, county leaders said that lowering or eliminating the sales tax would have resulted in significant cuts to services due to the loss of tax revenue.

Ultimately, county commissioners voted to extend the temporary rate, also pledging to create an economic development plan and a line item in the budget on how the money would be used.

The first public hearing will be held at 6 tonight and the second hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on Aug. 11 following the formal session of the weekly commissioners meeting.

Both hearings will be held in the Commission Chambers, Room 151 of the Springview Government Center, located at 3130 East Main St. in Springfield.

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