Centralia residents rejected a new half-cent sales tax for public safety purposes. The final tally with votes from both Marion and Clinton County were 1,916 against and 1,206 in favor.
The tax failed in both counties individually as well.
The City of Centralia had proposed the tax to pay for a lease-purchase agreement of two new fire trucks the city has already purchased as well as the proposed purchase of a third new truck. The police department would utilize the money for the annual purchase of squad cars. Both would have taken the pressure off the city’s general fund and was offered as an alternative to a property tax increase.
