By Meladi Brewer

DailyAdvocate.com

VERSAILLES — The Versailles Village Council discussed tax returns and EMS/Fire expenses.

The Versailles Council read Ordinance No. 24-15 for a third time to put it into place. This ordinance is for the continuation of a one-half percent additional levy on income for a period of five years for street reconstruction and major repair purposes, consisting of storm drainage improvements, sanitary sewer improvements, waterline improvements, and street maintenance.

Resolution No. 24-16 was also read for a third and final time. It is a resolution specifying a date of election for a continuation of an additional one-half percent levy on income for street reconstruction and major repair purposes for a period of five years commencing January 1, 2025 and directing the Board of Elections to conduct said election.

Fiscal Officer Kathy Ording addressed the council regarding the April Financial Report and Tax Report for the year. This year’s collection happened to be less than previous years, and she advised council of a theory as to why.

“You will see the tax collections are down a little bit from where we were last year,” Ording said. “It was calculated as $263,000 less in 2024 than in where we were a year ago.”

Ording said they are not privy to what goes on inside the “tax world” because it is confidential. They will be keeping an eye on the numbers in the months to come, as the businesses have to file throughout the year instead of the typical April deadline individuals have to abide by.

“It could be as simple as a business, or a couple companies, made an estimated payment last year, a large one, so they didn’t need to make one this year. These companies could have had the estimate last year, they are getting refunds back,” Ording said.

She said payroll tax is a big piece of the village’s income tax, and they do know they have lost some of the white collar workers, and Ording said “the little pieces here and little pieces there do add up pretty quick.”

“Hopefully we even out, and we don’t see this as a declining number each month, but our big tax filings with the residents is done now. They all needed to be filed April 15th,” Ording said.

The residents are already included, and the businesses filings are throughout the year. They hope “this is not a trend they are seeing every month”, but Ording’s guess is that is what happened with the filing.

The Finance & Audit Board is looking at meeting June 26 at 6 p.m. in order to discuss the tax budget due to the reports being finalized.

Discussions were had about implementing EMS to the Village Policy regarding a uniform budget. This discussion is to be continued between Fire Chief Brian Pearson, Village Administrator Kyle Francis, and Fiscal Officer Kathy Ording to discuss details regarding if it is plausible and to make a determination on the type of uniform whether it be just shirts, shirts and pants, etc.

More information is to come on the policy. Replacement furniture and appliance prices have been obtained by EMS personnel for the Fire/EMS Station. The existing furniture is from the original construction of the facility in 2008. The new mattresses for sleeping quarters and furniture in the living room at the station will be ordered through Francis Furniture (Greenville) at a cost of $3,615.

A replacement range and dishwasher will also be ordered for the station kitchen that have started to experience issues. The two new appliances will be ordered through Hansbarger Home Solutions (Greenville) at a cost of $1,072.48. These items were included in the 2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for the station.

The Versailles Village Council meets every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. They meet in the EMS Building located on Baker Road, and each meeting is open to the public with the next meeting being held on June 12th at 7 p.m.

To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].