There are public hearings for four ordinances at tonight’s Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting.
The first ordinance would enact nepotism standards for public officials. Petersburg’s charter requires the borough to have standards and procedures to address nepotism.
“This is essentially housekeeping on the borough charter,” said assembly member Scott Newman at the previous meeting on July 20.
The second ordinance would broaden Petersburg’s senior sales tax exemption. Last fall, voters narrowly approved limiting the town’s sales tax exemption to low-income seniors who qualify for the state’s senior benefits payment program. This year, community members successfully filed a petition to get the issue on the ballot again — this time, it would provide a sales tax exemption to residents 70 and older. That ordinance is now in front of the borough assembly, which can make minor changes.
Regardless of whether the borough assembly passes the ordinance, the issue will be on the ballot in October. Even if the assembly approves the ordinance, borough code requires voters to approve a sales tax exemption. If the assembly doesn’t tweak the ordinance, the issue will appear on the ballot as-is.
The third ordinance would establish a new borough service area in Thomas Bay. There are currently no established voters in the proposed service area. But, borough officials said having a service area in place will make it easier to provide emergency services and road construction in the area if future residents want it.
The fourth ordinance updates language in the borough code and clarifies utility extension procedures.
All four ordinances were unanimously approved in their first reading at the last meeting. They will need to be approved two more times to become law.
The Assembly meets tonight, August 3, at 6:00 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers. KFSK will broadcast that meeting live. You can find the full agenda here.
