Selectmen voted 4 to 0 to put the proposal on the Ludlow Town Meeting ballot.
LUDLOW - The Board of Selectmen considered a suggestion by a former selectman to bring a proposal to increase the restaurant meals tax back to the Town Meeting for consideration.
After a long discussion, selectmen voted 4 to 0 to put the proposal on the May annual Town Meeting warrant.
Antonio Dos Santos“We’ll let the Town Meeting decide,” said Selectman Antonio Dos Santos.
Matthew Pszeniczny, a town resident and a former selectman, wrote in a letter to the Board of Selectmen that the town could realize an additional $18,000 per month or $215,000 annually if it increased the restaurant meals tax from 6.25 percent to 7 percent.
The town considered this three years ago, but Town Meeting members voted against it.
Dos Santos said the restaurant business in town was adamantly opposed.
Selectmen Chairman Aaron Saunders said that increasing the restaurant meals tax is an opportunity for the town to recoup some revenue from non-residents who eat at the restaurants off the Massachusetts Turnpike while they are traveling through town.
Dos Santos said there are restaurants in town such as Villa Rose and Tony & Penny’s which have many local customers.
Selectman William Rooney said many neighboring communities have adopted the local option increasing the meals tax including Amherst, Belchertown, Chicopee, West Springfield, Springfield, Monson, Northampton, Palmer and South Hadley.
With increasing taxes and expenses, it is difficult to turn “a blind eye” to increased revenue, Rooney said.
Saunders said that if an additional $215,000 could be raised, it is money which would not have to come from local property taxes.
“I wish to thank Mr. Pszeniczny for bringing this forward,” Rooney said. He added that voters at the annual Town Meeting will make the final decision.
Saunders said he would support the proposal “not for extra spending, but for property tax relief.”