For the second time in seven months, Wardsville voters rejected a ballot measure that would have applied a 1 percent tax to online purchases of $2,000 or more.
Wardsville residents voted down the measure 419-325, or 56.32 percent to 43.68 percent.
In April, Wardsville residents were asked to approve a use tax that placed a 1 percent tax on internet purchases of $2,000 or more. The tax was at the same rate as the total local sales tax rate, 1 percent.
Bill Gratz, Wardsville Board of Trustees chairman, said funds raised by the measure would have been used to fund street and stormwater repairs in the village.
"The village is going to have to try to figure out how to fund its street repairs," Gratz said.
Because Wardsville does not have a property tax, its ability to raise funds to repair streets is limited. Village officials had no idea how much money a use tax would raise, Gratz said. A use tax would affect a small percentage of internet purchases, he said.
Since the measure failed twice, it is unlikely to appear on the ballot again, Gratz said. Instead, the village may be forced to consider a property tax to pay for street repairs, he said.
"It may be five years, it may be 10 years, but at some point there's streets that are going to have to be overlaid because of normal wear and tear," Gratz said.