Possible Utility Tax Increase In Selah
Selah City Hall
Residents in Selah may be seeing an increase in their utility bill.
The City Administrator, David Kelly is proposing a utility tax to the city council at a public hearing next month.
Kelly says the tax money will help pay off a 5 million dollar bond for a swimming pool 10 years ago.
Rates would go down for water, sewer, and garbage, but the tax would increase from 6 to 20 percent.
Kelly says increasing the utility tax is the most reasonable solution to the city's debt.
"We could cut some 500 thousand dollars out of the budget, and lay off a bunch of folks, or we could raise taxes. A 6.4 increase in overall utilities doesn't seem too oppressive considering the hole in the budget we have," said Kelly.
The city council will hold a public meeting regarding the ultility tax on November 13th.