A bill in the North Carolina General Assembly that would allow municipalities to implement a quarter-cent sales tax is getting support from a Washington City Council member.

“It has not been passed. It’s a quarter-cent sales tax. The money would come directly back to the city from the state treasurer’s office. The predicted amount is possible $200,000, which is the number I got from our finance director,” said council member William Pitt during the City Council’s July 10 meeting. “It could possibly help us recover from our privilege license tax that we lost several years ago.”

House Bill 900, if it becomes law, would permit municipalities to charge the local sales tax, if voters agree to the tax by way of a ballot referendum. The municipal sales tax would be in addition to existing state and county sales taxes. Under existing state law, municipalities do not have the authority to levy their own sales taxes.

“As we sit on this dais and talk about reducing funds and talk about giving out funds, we have to realize you can only give out what you have. This bill is supported very heavily by the (N.C) League of Municipalities,” Pitt said. “I think we as a council need to look at it because we are a Tier 1 county, and that is another issue for the League of Municipalities that has been addressed. When you’re a Tier 1 county, you’re a poor county. So being a poor county, you need to accept whatever revenue sources you can.”

He continued, “Since our only way to increase revenue in the city is to increase property taxes, and I don’t think anyone wants to increase property taxes, I believe a quarter-cent sales tax — no one would even feel a quarter-cent. … So, when the General Assembly gets back into session and those members support it, I hope we, as a city, will support that quarter-cent sales tax.”

Pitt represents the city on the North Carolina League of Municipalities board.

Revenue raised by the local sales tax could only be spent on specific items such as infrastructure and economic-development projects

Some municipal officials see the sales-tax option as a way to replace revenue sources they’ve lost because of actions taken by the General Assembly in recent years.

One of those revenue sources — the business privilege licenses — was taken away by the North Carolina General Assembly several years ago, costing the city at least $100,000 each fiscal year since then. The city took in about $123,000 in such revenue during the 2014 fiscal year, according to city officials.

Although the General Assembly promised to provide an alternate revenue source after it took away the city’s authority to generate revenue by issuing business privilege licenses, it has yet to do so.