by Trish Rudder
A re-reading of the proposed 1% municipal sales tax ordinance passed its first reading at the June 4 Town of Bath Council meeting. If a second reading is approved, the municipal sales tax will go into effect in the first quarter of 2025.
The original first reading was passed unanimously at the May 21 council meeting.
Councilman Greg Schene said last week that Ordinance 2024-05-17 “Municipal Sales and Use Tax” had not followed the state instructions for posting.
Schene said he was informed by town attorney, Richard Gay that any new tax required a legal posting of the proposed ordinance five days prior to both the first and second readings, which the town council had not done.
Schene said he missed that detail, so the ordinance was reread on June 4.
There were no changes in the ordinance, he said, and the second reading is scheduled for June 18.
A copy can be downloaded from the Town website under “Government – Municipal Code – Draft Ordinances” or picked up at the office at 271 Wilkes St. in Berkeley Springs.
The new tax would add 1% sales tax to purchases from businesses inside the town limits of the Town of Bath, in addition to the state’s 6% sales tax.
