A petition in Murray to place the payroll tax on the ballot has secured the number of signatures required by KRS statutes.
The petition needed 1,272 signatures-- 20 percent of eligible city voters that took part in last November’s election. Petition committee member Ed Davis says the signatures will be submitted to the Calloway County Clerk for verification. If verified and unchallenged in court, it could show up on the ballot in the general election next year. But Davis says there’s a good chance the petition could see resistance.
“We figure that there will be other legal action that will be taken against us at that time,” Davis said. “If the judge makes a decision in favor of the petition committee then it would be on the ballot. If the city wins then of course it would not be on the ballot. But that would not stop us from continuing to fight the issue.”
Murray City Attorney Warren Hopkins has said that KRS 83A.120 does not explicitly permit a payroll tax to be decided by referendum. However, Calloway County Attorney Bryan Ernstberger said that the payroll tax could legally be placed on the ballot.
The petition committee will accept signatures until December 31. The one percent payroll tax on workers in Murray goes into effect January 1.
