Centerville officials endorse education tax in Houston County

CENTERVILLE -- The mayor and City Council gave a hearty endorsement of renewing Houston County's educational special purpose local option sales tax during their Tuesday work session.

The council endorsed the one-cent sales tax which will be decided by county voters March 1.

Voters have regularly approved similar ESPLOSTs for schools since 1997, according to the resolution passed by the council.

The resolution says the current ESPOST expires in March 2017 and, if approved by voters, the new one would begin then.

Mayor John Harley commended the school system for the quality of education it provides Centerville and Houston County students. He said the ESPLOST is a way to pay for educational improvements without increasing taxes on property owners.

He noted the ESPLOST is equitable because it affects everyone who shops and pays sales tax in the county, including shoppers who come into the county from elsewhere. He called Houston County, and Centerville in particular, a regional shopping destination.

Councilman Cameron Andrews did not attend the meeting.

The council also briefly discussed commercial tractor-trailer vehicles that are parked in residential neighborhoods.

Resident Geraldine Parker asked the council if there is something officials could do to stop tractor-trailers from parking in neighborhoods, cars from being parked on lawns and to limit the number of cars at any given house.

Harley said while each of the matters brought up could be troubling and become an eyesore, there was nothing illegal about the practices. He said there is nothing the city could do unless vehicles were on city rights of way.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.

This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Centerville officials endorse education tax in Houston County ."