Voters approve one-cent sales tax issue in Jersey County

Jersey County voters said “yes” to a one-cent sales tax in its county that will add funds to local school districts.

The vote total at last count was 3,148 yes to 2,458 no for the sales tax.

Jersey Superintendent Lori Hopkins said she was very pleased the sales tax passed and proud of the community.

“I hope we move forward in a Jersey way,” she said. “We are looking at two accomplishments. No. 1, we went to the board and they agreed for a resolution for 45 percent of all sales tax to go toward debt and the priority list of school buildings that need care. Ilini and West are our two oldest buildings.”

Hopkins added that Jersey County is a close-knit area that cares about kids and this speaks to the idea that it wants to ensure the best happens to serve the children.

“I cannot even express my gratitude in words to individuals that stepped forward to canvas people on the sales taxes issue and PTELL and the investment that went into campaigning for this referendum.

“It shows that business leaders stepped forward to work with teachers, parents, students and farmers to see the future is bright. This is about building and committing to the community and the next step is we need to walk out the doors with our head high and know this is the direction we are moving.”

Jersey County voters had two issues that are attracting considerable attention on their ballots for the Tuesday election – one about the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law and the other a sales tax question asking whether a rate of 1 percent can be used in Jersey County exclusively for school facility purposes.

The sales tax question failed by a slim margin in the last election.

Three of Jersey’s buildings – the high school, East Elementary and Grafton Elementary are all relatively new buildings, but other buildings in the district are not and the superintendent said are in need of repairs.

Some examples used for the sales tax would be items like shampoo, conditioner, a pair of shoes, clothing at Wal-Mart or gasoline or buying a television.

Southwestern High School will also benefit from the sales tax issue for repairs, some of the funding will go toward a new roof.

At the last posting on the Jersey County Clerk’s website, the Jersey County PTELL question failed overwhelmingly 3,513 no to 1,992 yes.

These were the two key ballot questions for Jersey County residents:

JERSEY COUNTY REFERENDUM

“Shall the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (35 IL CS 200/18-185 through 18-245), which limits annual property tax extension increases, apply to non-home rule taxing districts with all or a portion of their equalized assessed valuation location in Jersey County?

Yes

No

SALES TAX QUESTION

Shall a retailer’s occupation tax and a service occupation tax (commonly referred to as a “sales tax”) be imposed in the County of Jersey, Illinois, at a rate of 1 percent to be used exclusively for school facility purposes?

Yes

No

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