Leadington discusses gross receipt tax rate

During the monthly meeting last Wednesday, the Leadington Board of Aldermen discussed updating old ordinances, a different ordinance relating to the gross receipt tax rate, and heard from Police Chief Jerry Hicks about the possibility of getting a free drug dog.

The major agenda item of the evening was the ordinance on gross receipts tax. Gross receipt taxes are a tax applied to a company’s gross sales without deductions for a firm’s business expenses.

Leadington Mayor Joe Davis read two different versions of the proposed ordinance, one reading the city would maintain the license tax for gas service at 5% of the gross receipt of a gas supply company within the city. The second version of the bill allowed the city to decide what percentage the tax rate should be.

City Attorney Larry Thomason said it was the board’s decision whether to maintain the 5% rate, but he said he had done the math and, assuming the average growth the city was seeing was 4% in revenues, Thomas said the rate would be below 5% by his math.

Davis suggested maintaining the 5%, and the rest of the board agreed with him, with the exception of Steve Kinsey who was absent.

After reading Bill 2023-03, which read the city of Leadington would maintain the license tax at 5%, the board approved the bill.

The board also discussed reviewing building codes and ordinances. Davis turned it over to Thomason, who said there is currently no building code.

Thomason said the city can look into many different kinds of building codes, including the International Building Code, the International Residential Code, and the Building Officials and Code Administrators code. He said the city can always adopt one of the preexisting codes and make changes if needed.

Alderwoman Debbi Matthews suggested having a work session, which Thomason said would be a good idea.

Matthews also asked Police Officer Andrew Lewis, who at one point had talked about taking classes to become a building inspector, if he was still interested. Lewis said he reviewed the requirements and spoke to Park Hills, and he has found the websites needed for classes and study materials.

“The testing is going to be the hardest part,” said Lewis. “Usually you want to take a few weeks of studying to make sure you’ve got everything.”

Lewis said he believes the test is in-person in Jefferson City, and that it costs $200 to take the test. He confirmed he is interested in getting licensed.

Davis said a lot of buildings are going to be grandfathered in, since no code is in place, unless it’s new construction. He said that should be taken into consideration when adopting a new code.

Thomason recommended seeing what neighboring municipalities are using for codes, since construction companies in the area would already be familiar with them.

Davis agreed and said the city will also have to look into the cost and timeframe. He also recommended holding a work session.

During the police reports, Hicks mentioned the opportunity of receiving a free, already-trained, drug-sniffing dog. He said the only cost to the department would be the initial veterinary bills. Hicks said wanted to look into it a bit more, but wanted board approval before doing so.

Davis asked if someone in the department is willing to keep the dog, and Hicks said there is. When the topic switched to what vehicle the dog would be riding in, Hicks said the dog and handler would be in the oldest patrol unit the department has. He also said the equipment for the car should be donated as well.

Hicks was given approval to further investigate the opportunity. 

Leadington City Attorney Larry Thomason, far right, talks during the monthly Board of Aldermen meeting Wednesday night about an ordinance concerning the license tax rate for a gas service.

Danielle Thurman is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be contacted at dthurman@dailyjournalonline.com or 573-518-3616.