Harrisburg City Council will hold a special legislative session at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a court-ordered increase to the city's earned income tax.
Earlier this week, Commonwealth Court Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter sided with city receiver William Lynch and said the council must temporarily raise the EIT from 1 percent to 2 percent.
The increase is part of the city’s recovery plan, which was approved in March, but the council failed to take action on it. Lynch filed a petition with the court seeking a writ of mandamus in order to compel compliance with the plan.
The judge gave the council 15 days to take action. It remains unclear whether the council will vote on the increase at Tuesday’s meeting.
The third-class city code states an ordinance that will affect city residents has to be publicly advertised for seven days before a vote is taken. The ordinance could just be read into the record Tuesday and a vote could occur at the next legislative session, said Kirk Petroski, the city clerk.
The council has a regular meeting scheduled for Sept. 11.
Neil Grover, the attorney for the council, could not be reached for comment.
If enacted, the city’s share of the EIT would increase from 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent. The school district receives the remaining 0.5 percent.
The increase would be for one year, and petitions may be sought for future years, the judge said.
The tax hike would have generated a projected $1.7 million more in city revenue this year had it been implemented by July 1, according to the state. The projection pegged next year’s EIT total at more than $5.1 million and nearly $6.9 million each year from 2014 to 2016.
