CWS voters consider sales tax

Glynis Crawford Smith

The Highlander

The City of Cottonwood Shores has just one decision on the May 6 ballot—city sales tax.

Each seat up for election on the city council had a single applicant. Mayor Donald Orr was unopposed as were Brigitte Stella Thomas for Place 2 and Stephen Alexander for Place 4.

The choice, then, is “for” or “against” Proposition 1: Shall the city council be reauthorized to impose a local sales and use tax at the rate of one-fourth of one percent to continue providing revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets?

“During the past 10 years that this has been in existence, Cottonwood Shores has been able to hard top or re-top most all of our streets,” said Mayor Orr. “We still have several to finish. We would like to continue to rely on this revenue, dedicated specifically to streets, to fund this effort.

“This income now amounts to about half of what the city spends to top streets in the summer.”

Orr said the relies on the assistance of a “local area agreement” with Burnet County to supply the equipment and operators to top the streets.

“Without these two means of support, we would not be able to progress as far as we have,” he said. Texas imposes a 6.25 percent state sales and use tax on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods and taxable services. Cities, counties and special purpose districts, such as emergency service districts, can add taxes up to two percent for a combined maximum rate of 8.25 percent, the current Cottonwood Shores rate.

The sales tax dedicated to street maintenance, once passed by a city council, must be approved again every four years to continue. The current portion of sales tax dedicated to crime control and prevention (half of one percent) and for property tax relief (one-quarter of one percent) do not require reapproval to continue, but repeal would call for voter approval, as would the one percent that is applied to the general fund.

In Fiscal year 2015 sales tax added $21,685 for streets alone. This Fiscal Year 2016, as of February, Cottonwood Shores combined sales tax revenue had been $41,279. 54, up 18.65 percent over the previous year.