Council to consider JC Fire Department sales tax

The City Council is set to consider the Fire Department improvement plan Monday, which includes a potential switch from a property to a sales tax on the August ballot.

The proposed ordinance would mean a 17 percent reduction to city property taxes as it would eliminate the 9.61-cent contribution to the Fireman's Pension Fund. The one-fourth cent proposed sales tax would sunset in 15 years, something City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus called "bad policy."

"I'm 100 percent against the sunset," Nickolaus said at the Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday after a council member expressed concern about having a sunset on the proposed tax.