Council votes to put up-to-1% sales-tax referendum for school capital on November ballot

Winchester City Council voted July 13 to initiate a referendum asking voters whether the city should be authorized to levy up to an additional 1% local retail sales tax dedicated to school capital projects.

City Attorney Melissa Michaelson said state code now permits cities to seek such a referendum; if council adopts the initiating resolution and the circuit court orders the question placed on the ballot, the question will appear on the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot. Finance staff provided conservative revenue estimates: a gross 1% could be roughly $14 million annually with exemptions for groceries and certain other commodities lowering net proceeds to an estimated $10 million in a conservative scenario. Staff used an $87 million school project example to illustrate that 1% could meaningfully reduce debt-service pressure (an example in packet equated that project to about an 8-cent equivalent on the real-estate tax if the 1% is not approved).

"If council were to adopt the initiating resolution, we would submit a court order to the circuit court," the city attorney said, explaining the next procedural steps and timing for advertisement and early voting. Councilors discussed the ballot language, the requirement that the referendum be a yes-or-no question, the 20-year sunset rule tied to bond life (the authorization cannot exceed 20 years), outreach to voters, and whether the school division would lead education efforts.

Several council members said they supported putting the question to voters, emphasizing the urgency of addressing school capital needs. One councilor asked whether the referendum could present multiple rate options; staff replied the referendum must be a single yes-or-no question ("not to exceed 1%"), and any specific rate would be set later by council if the referendum passes.

Council voted to adopt the initiating resolution and to move forward with the court order and timeline needed to place the referendum on the ballot; staff will coordinate communications and outreach with the school division and other partners ahead of early voting and the November election.

Next steps: the city will submit the court order and the clerk will publish notice; if voters approve the referendum, council will later consider an ordinance setting the exact rate (up to 1%) and the financing plan for capital projects.