By Marsha ChwalikMartinsburg, WVa. — It was a 6-to-1 vote last night that allowed Martinsburg’s leaders to raise property taxes for city residents.  The rate will now go from three to twelve percent under a proposal touted as necessary to maintain the city’s budget. City Councilman Roger Lewis was the lone dissenting vote.  He drew applause when he said the tax hike would be a burden on his constituents. Lewis says the city has two-million dollars in ‘uncommitted’ funds he thinks should be tapped during the current budget crunch. Martinsburg’s Finance Director Mark Spichler says it is the first significant tax hike in some time and said the city has long had the authority to raise taxes up to the 12 percent threshold but hasn’t done so until now. Councilman Richard Yauger voted ‘for’ the 9-percent tax increase.  He says the hike will garner the city only about 180-thousand dollars and wouldn’t be enough to fill all the holes in the city’s budget.  Some of the residents opposed to the rate hike suggested the city tighten its own belt through furloughs or budget cuts.  Yauger, who chairs the budget and finance committee, says just like citizens, the city has had a fixed income while its expenses have gone up. He says sacrifices have already been made,Yauger pointed out that every council member would be affected by the tax increase because all of them live in the city. The tax hike will become effective in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The increase would mean a city resident with a 200-thousand dollar property would pay just shy of 17-dollars more a year in property taxes.  Business owners’ taxes would increase by double that amount.

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