A quorum is expected for tonight’s city council meeting. At 6 p.m. the council will hear the second readings of two ordinances. One is a budget amendment to increase the 2016 fiscal year budget and the other is an amendment of the city’s fee schedule.
In a work session, they will discuss whether they want to modify the definition of “new residential housing.” If changed, the sales tax exemption given to newly constructed residential housing could apply to renovated, former commercial or industrial buildings.
This issue was brought up in a recent council meeting by Ounalaska Corporation CEO, Chris Salts. That’s because in 2014, the OC converted an old building into an 8-plex. Even though the renovation created eight units of new housing, all the labor and materials did not qualify for a sales tax exemption.