I would like to thank all of those who volunteered to put up and take down all of the flags at the cemetery for Memorial Day.  The flags helped the cemetery look beautiful and it was a great reminder of the appreciation we have for those who have served our country.

This fall we will be have an opportunity to extend the Local Option Sales Tax referendum that was passed back in 2002.  The original referendum will sunset on June 30, 2012 in Wellman and we have to pass another referendum in order to keep collecting the money, as well as to receive any funds from throughout the county.

With this Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) local merchants collect a one cent tax (in addition to the state sales tax) on qualifying purchases made in Wellman.  This money is eventually sent to the County to be divided among all the taxing entities that have passed a referendum and collect the tax (I believe all of the cities and the county have).  Each taxing entity is given a portion of the money on a per capita basis, regardless of how much is collected in their community.  This means that Wellman would receive a portion of the money collected all throughout the county.  Over the years we have received back more than what we have collected in town.  If we do not pass the referendum we would not collect the extra sales tax in town but would also not receive any of the county wide funds.

Over the last 10 years we have used these funds to help pay for upgrades at our water and sewer plants, city equipment, road construction, Parkside, etc. and we are expecting to utilize these funds to help pay for the 6^th Ave and Circle Drive reconstruction projects.  Ultimately, if we don’t have these funds to utilize we will either have to stop doing projects in town or raise property taxes and/or utility fees in order to continue upgrading our community.  We will hear a lot more about this subject in the months prior to the November election, but the Council is starting the process to have this referendum on the ballot.