By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
On a night when weather threatened to shorten the Wyoming City Council’s final outdoor meeting of the summer, and the council breezed through its agenda, a motion to spend $15,000 on a feasibility study of a possible city income tax took the most time and offered the only open debate.
At its Monday, Aug. 21 meeting, held at the green space outside the Metro Health-University of Michigan medical facility off Byron Center Avenue and with WKTV cameras present, the council eventually approved a proposal from Great Lakes Economic Consulting for the study.
“We want to do what is right for the City of Wyoming,” Mayor Jack Poll said in introducing the agenda item. “The cities of Walker and Grand Rapids do have these income taxes, so we are just going to look at it. We are not deciding on anything.”
Any city income tax proposal would need to be put before the voters. The city conducted a study several years ago and decided not to proceed with any action.
“But in the last seven years there has been quite a change in our community,” Poll said. “And that dictates (that it is) time we look at this also.”
City leaders in both Wyoming and Kentwood have expressed concern with the current state-dictated funding system for cities, and that future shortfalls in funding could lead to the need for cutbacks in city services or increases in property tax millage or other enhanced funding options, including the possibility of a city income tax.
The final vote was 5-1, with councilor Kent Vanderwood in opposition and councilor William VerHulst absent.
“I have some concerns about this,” Vanderwood said. “We did not do it the last time, and how serious are we? Do we want to spend $15,000 on the study, or should we be applying that to something else, more important than a study that we may not implement.”
While several other councilors offered support but expressed concerns about the possible impact of an income tax on new and old businesses in the city, and impact on property taxes, Councilor Marissa Postler summarized the city’s quandary of any new tax plan.
“When you ask anybody, in general, in theory, ‘Do you want to pay taxes?’ They are going to say ‘No’,” Postler said. “My point in this is (we need) to get enough information where we can present it to them, if we needed to, in a way where we have more, I guess, compelling information, compelling evidence that, if it comes to that point, if we talk about doing this, we have the information that will help us make that case.”
The council meetings are broadcast live on WKTV 26 Mondays at 7 p.m. and repeat on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m. The first and third Mondays are actual council meetings and the second Monday is a work session. The schedule can be found at wktv.org Programming Government Access 26. Replays are also available online at WKTV’s government meetings on-demand page (wktv.viebit.com).
The rest of the council’s agenda was passed as recommended. For the complete agenda of the meeting, visit the city’s website page here.
