Lockport voters OK sales tax hike

The town of Lockport approved a 0.7 percent sales tax increase Saturday by an overwhelming 86-to-14 percent margin.

“The tax is primarily for the operation and maintenance of the sewer plant, sewer lines, streets and drainage,” said Lockport’s Mayor Richard Champagne.

He said the cost of sewage has increased dramatically since the sewer plant opened 15 years ago.

“When the sewer plant was built, there was a certain amount of sales tax money that was dedicated to the supplementation of it. It was to be about 50,000 a year,” said Champagne. “But over the years, as sewer costs continued to rise, and items had to be replaced and repaired, this sales tax got to be bigger and bigger until it was about double.”

Champagne said a 0.7 percent sales tax increase would cost the city less and be more efficient than changing the yearly supplementation to about $100,000 a year.