Somerset City Council hears first reading of tax ordinance

Local News

March 2, 2013

Somerset City Council hears first reading of tax ordinance

By HEATHER TOMLINSON, CJ Staff Writer Commonwealth Journal The Commonwealth Journal Sat Mar 02, 2013, 07:43 PM EST

Somerset —

City officials last week heard the first reading of an ordinance to establish its own occupational tax in an effort to claim its share of the revenue.

Somerset Mayor Eddie Girdler during the Monday, Feb. 25 Somerset City Council meeting emphasized the city’s own occupational tax rate is offsetting the county’s current 1 percent rate, taken from employees’ pay and from businesses’ net profit.

That means no one will be paying an occupational tax to two different entities.

“There’s no additional dollars, we’re just dividing up the pot,” said Girdler. “We and the county are just cooperating ... there will be no increase at all on anybody’s taxes.”

According to the ordinance, read by Somerset City Attorney Carrie Wiese during the meeting, the city’s rate could be set at six-tenths of a percent, if nothing changes with the ordinance.

Wiese touched on several parts of Ordinance 13-02. Sections of the ordinance include which businesses must pay the city’s tax and which businesses are exempt — things that align fairly closely with the county’s current tax ordinance.

“Businesses already exempt from the county’s occupational tax will be exempt from our occupational tax as well,” Wiese said. “You don’t pay the county occupational tax, you’re probably not going to have to pay the city occupational tax.”

Wiese also touched on penalties for businesses that do not pay the tax in an effort to evade payment, how businesses should file returns for the IRS and the city, and how the tax is meant to be collected through the employers’ payroll system,

“It’s exactly the same as the other occupational taxes paid,” said Wiese. “It’s the same way the county occupational tax works now.

“Any business that pays the county occupational tax will understand this,” Wiese later said.

Girdler said he’s hopeful the county will collect the taxes for the city, since that entity already has the system up and operating.

“There’s no use in duplicating that at this time,” Girdler said.

The ordinance comes after a tentative agreement was reached between county and city officials regarding the division of the occupational tax fund after the city raised some concerns about what Girdler had said was a funding shortfall for Somerset-Pulaski County EMS.

The city, as per a 1995 agreement, had been funding EMS.

City officials had looked at claiming its chunk of the occupational tax revenue to help cover that shortfall, which would have been anywhere between 55 percent and 75 percent of the county’s current occupational tax revenue. That would have left the county reeling.

But before the city moved in to take its chunk of the occupational tax revenue, both sides agreed to negotiate a new agreement involving EMS funding and restructuring of the occupational tax.

Girdler suggested Monday that the tax could go into effect on July 1, 2013, which would coincide with a new fiscal year.

“There will be plenty of time for everybody to get their forms and get it to their payroll clerk,” Wiese said, about the July 1 start date.

Wiese said the revenue from the tax will go into the city’s general fund.

The council did not comment on the reading Monday. Comments are held until the second reading of an ordinance.

Ordinance 13-02, which is still subject to change, is available to the public at Somerset City Hall.

Text Only

Local News

Mobile home gutted by fire
A mobile home was destroyed and two others sustained minor damage in a fire Monday afternoon that occurred around two miles west of Somerset.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
Dwindling numbers close Pulaski Central as education alternative
Students needing instruction in an “alternative education” setting will no longer be going to Pulaski Central High School, according to county school officials.

With dwindling numbers at the facility on Bourne Avenue, the Pulaski County School District has decided to transition any students using its services to similar programs at either Southwestern or Pulaski County High Schools.

May 20, 2013
War ration books remind us of difficult times during WWII
With 24/7 news channels spouting horrendous tales of terror and rampant crime, it’s easy to conclude the world has gone to the dogs; that these are dangerous times.

Sadly, horrific events are nothing new. For those old enough to remember World War II, nothing since has matched the impact this global conflict had on the American people.

May 20, 2013 1 Photo
Business booming for new liquor store
Five liquor licenses were approved for Somerset and the third store to open was this past week.
Called "First Stop,"the new package store it is located on the west side of U.S. 27 between lights 20 and 21, which is a little north of TSC Tractor Supply. The owner is Charlotte Perdisaris and the manager is Michael Scott.
Perdisaris has been working on getting the store ready for a number of months but was delayed by the shipment and installation of a large 10 x 20 foot walk-in cooler that lines the back of the shop. Otherwise, she thought they could have opened much earlier and, perhaps, have even been the first to open.With such a large cooler, they have a large supply of beer and wine in it to choose from. As to other spirits, they have a large variety of brands, especially high end brands such as Crown Royal and R&R. In addition, they have beer singles on ice. At this time, they are the only local liquor store selling beer in kegs.
First Stop is the last liquor store to open that is locally owned and operated. The remaining two licenses are to drug store retailers.

May 19, 2013 1 Photo
Scenic new trails opened at Pulaski County Park
Despite a rainy last several days, outdoor enthusiasts couldn’t help but play in the mud a little this weekend in celebration of the grand opening of biking and hiking trails at Pulaski County Park.
“We’ve been working on this .. for about four years,” said Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock to a crowd of around 50 people gathered at the head of the new trail at the park. “ ... It’s been such a good project.
“We think it’s going to be a huge asset to this community,” added Bullock.
The essence of the trail has existed at Pulaski County Park for decades as an Eagle Scout Trail. The newest trails, are almost 9 miles long, with five of those miles dedicated to biking.
The trail is built to the standards of the International Mountain Biking Association, a worldwide network that brings together serious bicycle enthusiasts.

May 19, 2013 1 Photo
Pulaski County High seniors got school back on track
No sooner had the class of 2013 said hello to Mike Murphy than they were saying goodbye.

Murphy took over as principal at Pulaski County High School last March in the wake of the school’s low test scores, which forced a change in leadership.

May 18, 2013 1 Photo
Warriors shake their way through graduation
Pomp and Circumstance? How about the Harlem Shake?

All 252 students making up the Southwestern High School Class of 2013 opted to let loose Friday evening with their own version of the dance craze that has been at the top of viral video searches for months now in celebration of their move from high school and into the world beyond.

May 18, 2013 1 Photo
Former UK basketball star, local cancer patient form special bond
A visit to the local Children’s Clinic for an ear infection led to Kelly Melton’s leukemia diagnosis.

And, it goes without saying, leukemia was the last thing on mother Lisa Melton’s mind when she told nurse practitioner Allison Bastin-Muse that her son, a first-grader at Science Hill Independent School, had been tired lately.

May 18, 2013 1 Photo
Ogden Street fire
May 17, 2013 1 Photo
City tourism board, taxes now law
May 17, 2013 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Somerset City Council hears first reading of tax ordinance

Site Map