This morning, the Galesburg Area Chamber of Commerce held a meeting where the proposed Capital Utility Tax was presented to the community.Many business owners attended the meeting, expressing concerns over what the 5% tax would mean for their businesses.
Galesburg Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Steven Brody says he has been in contact with several businesses about the proposal, and many have reacted negatively.
City Manager Todd Thompson says the 5% is just an average, but there is a tier system based on utility usage. Thompson told community and city council members that for businesses, it would be more around 3 or 4%.
Brody tells WGIL that initially businesses were concerned about providing their services if they had to pay the 5% rate.
“Several of them had given me calculations as to what it would cost and it was in the thousands, some in the tens of thousands,” says Brody. “So they were extremely concerned about the impact on their bottom line and whether they were going to be able to adequately provide their services to their customers while having to pay this too.”
Thompson says this would bring in roughly $2.3 million in revenue for infrastructure needs, but this number does not include businesses.
Thompson says if there are any questions, they can be directed at him or a local alderman and a second reading of the proposal will be held July 6th.
