Centerville council adopts food and beverage tax ordinance with restricted uses

The Centerville Town Council voted March 10 to adopt Ordinance 2026-02, imposing a town food and beverage tax. The motion for third reading was moved and seconded and carried on a roll-call vote.

Council member support and public examples framed the debate: one council member said communities with similar taxes in nearby counties have used revenue to support local attractions and that the additional percentage ‘‘might raise, if we’re lucky, $5 or $6,000 in a year’’ for Centerville. He urged transparency so residents could see how any proceeds would be spent.

The chair explained statutory limits on the fund’s uses, citing provisions included when the town was placed into the enabling state legislation (referred to in the meeting as “Senate Bill 1”). The chair told the council the Wayne County plan and state rules restrict spending to downtown beautification, parks, tourism and economic development projects for visitors — ‘‘that money cannot be used at all for infrastructure,’’ the chair said.

Council members debated potential impacts on local businesses and on resident behavior; one member said he did not expect the modest additional percentage to deter dining in Centerville and said the goal was attracting visitors who would also use other local services. Another member said the town must decide a specific project before spending funds and reiterated the need for transparency on allocations.

The ordinance was presented and adopted by roll call; the chair asked that the item be placed on a future work-session agenda for further discussion of project options and implementation details.

Ordinance text recorded in the meeting identified the measure as, in the meeting transcript, “Ordinance number 2026‑02, an ordinance of the town council of the town of Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana imposing the Centerville town food and beverage tax.” The council’s vote was announced as carried during the meeting.

Next steps noted by the council include placing the ordinance on the council’s work-session agenda for project-selection and reporting plans.