Bill HullanderWHAT’S NEXTEast Ridge City Council will hold an open work session at 5 p.m. on May 7 to discuss the budget and city tax collection. It will hold a public hearing about the possibility of taking back the city’s sewer service on May 14 at 5:30 p.m.
East Ridge council members are taking a second look at their quick decision to collect their own taxes after Hamilton County Trustee Bill Hullander spelled out an extensive list of potential problems several council members said they had not considered before voting.
The council decided to bill and collect its own taxes in a unanimous vote at the end of its April 12 meeting without ever contacting Hullander about the switch or what it would involve.
“There’s more to it than you realize,” Hullander said as he addressed the council during an agenda session.
The county charges East Ridge 2 percent to bill and collect its taxes, which would come out to $93,000 from the city’s estimated $4.6 million in property tax revenue — if 100 percent of taxes were collected.