The Petersburg Borough Assembly will look at a few revenue-generating ideas during today’s noon meeting. Assembly member Bob Lynn put the discussion items on the agenda. He says he wants to find creative ways to bring in more money to the borough.
The budget is tight again this year. Last year the Petersburg borough’s budget was nearly $400 thousand in the hole. At an assembly work session with the school board on February 6, Borough Manager Steve Geisbrecht said there will likely be similar problems this year.
The borough’s ability to bring in money is limited. Revenue comes in through property tax, but the borough’s rate is already near the max allowed by borough charter.
The borough also gets money through sales tax, but any increase to sales tax first needs to be approved by a public vote.
One idea Lynn wants to discuss is a tax on fish boxes. Most boxes of frozen fish leaving Petersburg belong to tourists. It’s not a new idea to tax each box five or ten dollars apiece – the assembly has considered it before. But Lynn says if the fish tax could bring in revenue, it’s worth discussing.
Another idea is an increase to Petersburg’s marine passenger fee. The borough currently charges certain tourists arriving in Petersburg by sea $5 each. That money doesn’t go into the town’s general fund – it’s used for tourism-related things. But Lynn says increasing the amount of money in the tourism fund could still help alleviate some of the strain on the budget.
Lynn would also like to revisit the idea of raising Petersburg’s sales tax cap. A proposition that would have increased the amount of sales tax the borough could collect in a single transaction failed by five votes in October’s municipal election. Sales tax currently caps out at $72 on a $1200 purchase. The proposition would have raised it to $300 on a $5,000 purchase. Officials said money from the increase would have helped support borough services, including the Petersburg School District. Lynn says he’s curious whether other assembly members would be interested in putting it back on the ballot again this year, perhaps with some tweaks.
