Village of Bethel Councilwomen Priscilla Johnson, center, explains why she supported a half-percent tax, with no credit, on earned income during the council’s meeting on September 10. Also pictured are Councilwoman Amy Sparks, on left, and Councilman James Rees.

Village of Bethel Councilwomen Priscilla Johnson, center, explains why she supported a half-percent tax, with no credit, on earned income during the council’s meeting on September 10. Also pictured are Councilwoman Amy Sparks, on left, and Councilman James Rees.
By Megan Alley
Sun staff

Members of the village of Bethel Council approved a half-percent tax, with no credit, on earned income during their meeting on September 10.

The tax is a measure recommended by the village’s Finance Committee after voters rejected an 8 mill continuous police levy in a special election on August 4.

Revenue generated by the income tax would go into the village’s general fund, of which the police use 70 percent, Mayor Alan Ausman said in a meeting on January 8.

The current 2.9 mill police levy, which expires at the end of 2015, brings in $88,000 annually.

The Bethel Police Department had to make staffing cuts when the village was placed on fiscal emergency in 2008. The department has gone from having seven full-time officers to three full-time officers, one part-time and five auxiliary officers.

The Bethel Council voted down a proposed one percent income tax on April 9.

Rus Whitley, of Bethel, spoke against the income tax the during public comment period. He said business owners that he talked to were worried about the income tax.

“I walked around the town and talked to a few business [owners]. Some of them are struggling quite a bit. They are worried about this tax. I know three of them that I talked to said that when this tax passes, they’re leaving town,” Whitley said. “This tax, which you say you need, a lot of them are worrying about it.”

Councilwoman Priscilla Johnson said the council could offer tax breaks to businesses looking to start in Bethel.

“One of the benefits though of this is, once we do have some businesses come into this community, [and] they usually come in as mom and pop places, one thing that we can offer those businesses is tax breaks to come here,” Johnson said.

Ron Hazenfield, of Bethel, spoke in support of the income tax.

“I think we need this tax, this half-percent, it needs to come through,” Hazenfield said. “We need the village to have a police department. You’re talking about new businesses, [but] you’re not going to get them if you don’t have a police department.”

Councilman James Rees also spoke in support of the income tax.

“Any tax comes out of somebody’s pocket, but if you’re not progressive, if you’re not moving forward, if you don’t have an adequate police department, you’re moving backward,” Rees said. “In my opinion, we don’t have room to move backward.”

The income tax passed with a 5-1 vote. Councilwoman Janice Ireton voted against the tax.

“Council was backed into a corner. We have to pay for the police department, so council didn’t have a choice,” said Ausman. “I know they were all very conflicted about it, but I know they saw what they had to do.”

Councilwoman Amy Sparks said she knows the decision to pass the income tax was not made lightly.

“I’m certainly happy that we spent so much time considering it, and lots of hours were spent on it,” Sparks explained. “I’m very excited that we’ve all been able to reach the conclusion, that we came back and offered a compromise with the half-percent after we had opposed a one-percent.”

She added, “I think that shows that we were diligent in trying to get what we needed, but at the same time, listen to what the people’s needs were.”

When the Finance Committee meets on October 6, they will request an ordinance be drafted that restricts all revenue from the 2016 income tax to the police department, and they will recommend that council adopt the ordinance, according to Sparks.

“We would restrict the funds to the police department only for 2016, and then as we look at appropriations and needs for 2017, we’ll propose an ordinance based on that information,” Sparks explained.

Bethel Chief of Police Mark Planck said he thinks the income tax will help to ensure the safety of Bethel residents.

“Nobody wants to pay more taxes, but I think the safety of the community is worth it,” Planck said.

He added, “I think it will be helpful to the squad, because we were feeling like no one cared.”