An idea to impose an escalating 2% annual tax to build up a reserve to help finance a community complex faded Monday.
Council accepted a recommendation from treasurer Cari Pupo to abandon the plan.
In a report, she said the short-term increase, which would begin in 2015 and end in 2019 when the town would debenture for the multi-purpose arena and community… centre, “does not benefit the ratepayers of Pelham.”
The amount of money collected in such a short time would not significantly affect the debenture, she said.
Coun. Gary Accursi, who suggested the tax, said his own calculations on how to manage such a tax agreed with the treasurer’s findings.
He supported dropping the idea.
The removal of the proposal keeps the annual tax increase at $26 for on a typical Pelham taxpayer with an assessment of $302,000.
That is for a $10 million operating budget to run the town.
Pelham’s portion is 33% of a residential taxpayer’s bill. The Niagara Region receives 50% and education taxes for schools 17%, which are yet to be determined.
