Residents give opinions on proposed sales tax

It was a packed house Tuesday night at Chelsea City Hall during a public hearing regarding the proposed one cent sales tax increase. The meeting followed the regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

Mayor Tony Picklesimer announced the proposal two weeks prior as a way to provide monetary assistance to the five Chelsea schools for things that aren’t paid for by the Shelby County Board of Education.

“We want to hear from citizens and parents and people that do business in the city of Chelsea,” Picklesimer said. “Everyone has the opportunity for their opinion to be heard.”

Before the public comment began, Picklesimer asked the crowd to raise their hands if they were for, against or unsure about the proposed tax. More hands were raised by those in support of the increase than not and only a few were still undecided.

Before the public comments, each member of the council made a statement.

Councilman Chris Grace said that although he no longer has children attending Chelsea schools, all three of his children are graduates of Chelsea High School and his wife also worked there.

“I have seen those needs in real time, and this action is in response to those needs,” Grace said.

Councilwoman Tiffany Bittner said she and her family chose to move to Chelsea years ago because of the schools and now has four children in the school system.

“While the county does the best they can, there are gaps that need to be met,” she said. “To me this is one way we can help our students to make a difference. This is a way we can begin a step in the right direction to make improvements in Chelsea.”

15 people addressed the council, and their opinions were split down the middle.

Rachel Ivey, a Chelsea resident for almost 20 years, said she raised her three children in the schools and also worked at a School Resource Officer. She said that although the sales tax wouldn’t benefit her directly, she is still for it.

“I have been so encouraged since this council came into office, and they are not just thinking about right now, but what we need five to ten years from now,” Ivey said. “We may not see the payoff for 10 or 20 years, but we as a community need to prioritize our children to get the best education and have best opportunities.”

Sandy Blakely said that while she is pro-school and has been part of three different school PTO boards, she thinks the tax will have a negative impact on school fundraising.

“People will be under the impression that the city will take care of it,” Blakely said. “Now I have a choice of what I want to donate to, but increasing the tax takes away my right.”

Allen Atchison said that citizens are already taxed too much and need a break.

“There is too already too heavy a tax burden, so why add another one percent now?”  Atchison said. “I don’t think this is the best decision for Chelsea’s long-term growth.”

Chris Fielding said that he feels the positives outweigh the negatives and anything done to improve the school will have great dividends. Andrew Hudspeth said he has lived in Chelsea since 2000 and every facility at the high school was paid for by the booster club and parents and has not changed since. He believes Chelsea is carrying more of the burden than surrounding areas.

Sam Mann said he believes the tax increase will end up hurting the city and encouraged the council to take the long road instead of trying to get quick easy money and find a more-long term solution to increase volume and not tax. Jim Lowery said the tax seems like a quick fix and doesn’t think it’s a good way.

Overall, the discussion was a respectful one and at the close of the meeting, Mayor Picklesimer thanked the crowd for the way they handled themselves.

“I think people might have been expecting something a whole lot different than neighbors sitting around the table discussing an issue,” he said. “I made you a promise that this was a proposal. We will go back and watch this again and listen to the comments. Thank you very much for caring enough to be here.”

During the council meeting, a proclamation was made declaring May as Foster Care Awareness Month, and two resolutions were approved, one to dispose of the surplus books at the library and another to approve the purchase of two new Welcome to Chelsea signs.

This weekend is tax-free weekend, along with bulk trash pick up day on Saturday. The next council meeting will be August 6 at 6 p.m. with precouncil starting at 5 p.m.