Spiceland Town Council Tuesday voted not to increase a local tax to hire a town marshal.
After hearing from several constituents and giving the matter additional thought, Council Vice President Pam Stigall said she decided the time for such a move is not right, in spite of being a proponent of the idea previously.
Council President Darrin Jacobs said the council decided increasing a tax-rate for a potential hiring was premature. “... there are no projects on the horizon. There has been some discussion about raising the rate to pay for a town marshal, but we have not moved forward on that. I, for one, am not interested in a tax increase right now. We’ve already raised the rates for water and electricity and I don’t want to overburden the people who live here.”
Stigall and council member Marita Roberson agreed and both spoke against a tax increase.
Stigall conceded that she was the one who originally brought up the idea of using a rate increase to grow the Cumulative Capital Development Fund in order to pay for a town marshal.
Roberson said the town needs to “run lean” and be as fiscally responsible as possible.
“Everyone is working hard and needs to hang on to every penny they can. This is not the time to ask for more,” Roberson said.
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