The Town Council will end its summer hiatus on Tuesday, Aug. 13, and one of the items on the agenda for that meeting will be consideration of an increase to the local sales tax.
The last hike for the sales tax was effective the first of April in 2003 with an increase of a full percentage point from 1.6 to 2.6, where it has remained ever since.
That increase was implemented to help offset the cost of fire and emergency medical services which the town had taken over when the council dissolved the fire district in 2001.
A study panel was formed to make revenue recommendations after a proposal to implement a primary property tax was nixed by voters in 2002. The panel recommended the sales tax hike, but also another attempt at a property tax vote and also endorsed an effort to re-establish the fire district, which would operate as an independent governmental body using a secondary property tax.