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Mendon commissioners weigh small sales-tax increase to capture online purchases and fund services
Summary
Commissioners discussed raising Mendon's local sales-tax rate (proposed increases ranged 0.3% to 0.5%) to collect revenue from online deliveries and vehicle registrations, with estimates of tens of thousands in first-year receipts but no final vote recorded.
At their recent meeting, Mendon planning and zoning members discussed a proposal to increase the city's share of sales tax modestly to capture revenue from online purchases and out-of-state vehicle registrations.
S5, speaking from a business perspective, explained that changes in sales-tax sourcing since 2020 mean many online deliveries now generate a local sales-tax allocation. "If Mendon sells tax, the city or the state would be collecting," S5 said, and recommended a modest increase of about 0.3% to 0.5% to match nearby cities. S3 and others estimated a small daily flow of online purchases could, when aggregated, produce "fifty to a hundred grand the first year," though commissioners did not present a formal revenue estimate or model in the meeting.
Commissioners discussed likely uses for new revenue, naming cemetery debt, equipment purchases and maintenance services such as sidewalk and driveway snow removal. S1 cautioned that the city must educate residents before raising rates because voters often react to perceived immediate costs. "The only people who come are the people who are angry," S1 said, stressing the need for a public-education campaign.
No formal motion to change the sales-tax rate was recorded during the meeting; commissioners agreed to pursue further discussion and to contact the mayor and City Council as the next step.
