After months of discussion, the Galesburg City Council on Monday will consider moving forward with the former Churchill Junior High as the location of a proposed community center. And during the same meeting, aldermen will discuss implementing a quarter cent sales tax increase to support the community center and infrastructure improvements throughout the city.
The meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday at Galesburg City Hall.
If aldermen approve moving forward with Churchill on Monday, staff will work with Farnsworth Group to develop an agreement for A/E services to finalize the proposed spaces to be developed, provide final design concepts, and prepare bid documents for the project, which will be brought to City Council at a future meeting for approval.
An informal straw vote by the City Council during a Nov. 14 work session showed aldermen preferred moving forward with renovating Churchill by a 4-3 margin. Aldermen Kevin Wallace, Dwight White, Sarah Davis and Jacyln Smith-Esters preferred Churchill over several other locations.
The cost to renovate Churchill was last estimated to be $6.5 million, according to Farnsworth Group.
During the Nov. 14 work session, Mayor Peter Schwartzman and new City Manager Gerald Smith both mentioned the possibility of implementing a sales tax increase to help fund the community Center.
Addressing the budget impact of moving forward with a community center, administration said in the agenda item: “due to the desire to maintain reserves, the city should consider a quarter cent sales tax increase to support the community center and infrastructure improvements throughout the city as identified through the survey. This funding strategy would result in new revenue and will not have an impact on current operations or programs currently funded.”
On Monday, aldermen will consider on first reading the approval of an ordinance to increase the Home Rule Sales Tax Rate from 1.00% to 1.25%. The city manager recommends approval of the ordinance, according to the agenda.
If the City Council approves the ordinance, administration will file the ordinance with the State of Illinois Department of Revenue by March 31, 2023. The tax will become effective July 1, 2023; it is estimated that the City will receive its first payment in October 2023.
The additional .25% would generate approximately $950,000 annually in home rule sales tax revenue.
Galesburg, as a Home Rule Municipality, has the power to set its own rates for sales tax by ordinance without a public referendum.
