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Council postpones vote on abolishing EDC tax after disclosure that investor withdrew
Summary
After extended debate and clarification from the City Attorney on legal constraints, the council postponed consideration of an ordinance to abolish the Dickinson EDC's 0.25% sales tax and reallocate it to the General Fund; council recorded that a $20 million investor withdrew after seeing the agenda.
The Dickinson City Council debated Item 7.E for more than an hour before voting to postpone the measure to the next meeting. The ordinance under consideration would have abolished the remaining 0.25% sales tax dedicated to the Dickinson Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and reallocated that revenue to the City’s General Fund for purposes such as streets and drainage.
The City Attorney explained that state law requires formal abolition of the EDC tax before any reallocation can occur and cautioned that a non-binding referendum is not an appropriate mechanism for that legal process. Councilmembers expressed differing views about whether eliminating the EDC tax would harm or help long-term investment prospects and city finances. During discussion the council disclosed that "a $20 million investor withdrew from a pending development project after seeing the agenda item," raising concern about potential negative impacts to economic momentum.
Several motions were offered: an attempt to approve a non-binding referendum failed for lack of a second and was ruled inappropriate by the City Attorney; other motions to reallocate or to put the matter on the ballot did not proceed to a recorded council vote. Ultimately Scott E. Shrader moved to postpone the item and Kevin D. Edmonds seconded; the motion passed 7–0. The Mayor then moved the council into executive session to consult with the City Attorney; council returned to open session with no action taken on executive-session items.
