City Council Minutes 2021 08 24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes August 24, 2021 Page 9 of 10 Members asked that a discussion of the local minimum wage and a discussion of the number of unrelated persons allowed to live together be items included on the possible 2022 work plan. Members asked Councilmember Brown to get information from the Consortium of Cities on where they are currently on this, where the possible County tax is, and what the plans are for how it would be spent. DISCUSSION/DIRECTION — AMENDMENT TO SINGLE USE BAG TAX ORDINANCE Sustainability Coordinator Katie Baum stated that this year the State Legislature passed HB 1162 which establishes a temporary fee on plastic bags and permanent fee on paper bags; phases out single -use plastic bags used by corporate or franchised stores; bans Styrofoam to -go containers at retail food establishments Jan. 1, 2024; and removes the local preemption on plastic materials. She reviewed the timing of this new law and how it interacts with the new Louisville bag tax. She noted the State rules do not include small stores and restaurants which the Louisville tax does. She reviewed the differences in the two laws. The Louisville tax effects all Louisville retailers with an exemption for farmers' markets and temporary vendors while HB 1162 does not include small stores but does include farmers' market vendors. The small store exemption if for any store with three or fewer locations in the state. Staff recommends making changes to the Louisville rules to require remittance quarterly, and to make it easier for our vendors to comply with both laws, staff is recommending the City continue to collect a standard $.25 tax from all stores and administratively divide it into separate accounts for the tax and the fee, so that the funds may be spent in compliance with use restrictions on the state bag fee then crediting the State's portion. This would provide consistency of $.25 charge across all stores in Louisville. Public Comments — None. Mayor Stolzmann proposed removing the exemption of farmers' markets in the Louisville ordinance. She does not support the credit option as it she feels it makes the smaller stores pay a higher rate than the bigger stores. Councilmember Brown stated he wants to stay as close as possible to the original intent of the ballot language. He would support the new State fee being charged on top of the City's tax. Councilmember Dickinson supports removing the farmers' market exemption and supports charging everyone the 25 cents to keep it consistent for all Louisville businesses.