Order cigarettes online from cheapest tobacco shop

Danville City Council is beginning to go over key issues in City Manager Joe King’s proposed budget. They tackled King’s proposed 30-cent-a-pack cigarette tax, closing the Westover Branch Library, reducing hours of operation at the main library and two recreation centers, a pay raise for city employees and a quick review of the Capital Improvements Plan during a work session Tuesday night.

King pointed out a cigarette tax is one of the few taxes cities in Virginia can impose, the others being real estate tax, personal property tax and meals/hotel taxes. King said his proposed 30-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes will bring the city $250,000-$300,000 a year in revenue.

Councilman Fred Shanks questioned how King arrived at that figure, asking what the tax would do to cigarette sales. King said he could only go by what 31 of Virginia’s 39 cities that have a cigarette tax report, but admitted there is a risk of losing sales.

The cost of a pack of cigarettes currently includes $1.01 in federal taxes and 30 cents in state taxes. North Carolina’s state tax is 45 cents per pack, and localities are not permitted to add additional taxes. If Danville adds a 30-cent tax, that means it could cost 15 cents less a pack to purchase cigarettes in North Carolina, and residents could also save money buying cigarettes in Pittsylvania County, which does not have a local tax. Mayor Sherman Saunders also questioned the wisdom of enacting the tax, noting that the potential for less expensive cigarettes within a short distance could instead turn into a loss for the city.

“What is the net cost? Will it drive away sales?” Saunders asked. Vice Mayor David Luther said he supports the tax. He said Danville attracts shoppers for other items and pointed out that the city budget needs the tax income to be balanced. Luther said anything taken from revenues included in the proposed budget requires that something else be taken away to make up the difference.

In a straw poll — not a formal vote — five council members said they would support the tax (Tomer, Luther, Alonzo Jones, Larry Campbell and Gary Miller). Saunders, Shanks and Buddy Rawley said they remain suspicious about whether the tax would truly increase revenues and oppose the tax. Councilman John Gilstrap was absent. Straw polls also showed City Council members would approve closing the Westover Branch Library for an annual savings of $61,500. Reducing hours at Coates and Glenwood recreation centers by eliminating little-used programs and transferring others to Ballou Park also got an informal nod from City Council members, and did shortening the hours at the main library by an hour on weekdays, for a savings of about $100,000 per year.

A 3-percent pay increase for city employees also got an informal go-ahead from City Council, with the exception of Shanks, who said he could support raises for police and fire department staff but did not feel it was the right time for an across-the-board raise. After brief discussion about the plans for the new fire station, City Council members also showed agreement on the CIP budget. When the budget comes up for a formal vote, it will require a 6-3 vote in favor to pass.