GODFREY – The Godfrey Village Board is set to consider a pair of new sales taxes following one village official’s plan to raise the village’s sales tax on goods and services rather than replacing the state’s expiring 1% grocery tax.
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Tuesday’s agenda for the Godfrey Village Board of Trustees calls for the consideration and approval of an ordinance implementing a non-home rule tax on sales of personal property and sales of service. Exceptions apply to personal property which is “titled and registered” with a state government agency, according to the ordinance.
If passed by Oct. 1, 2025, both taxes would be imposed at a rate of 0.75%. The village would then begin collecting this new tax revenue effective Jan. 1, 2026.
All proceeds generated by these new taxes “must be used for ‘public infrastructure’ or ‘property tax relief’” under the current language of the ordinance.
Village Engineer Rich Beran previously suggested raising the village’s sales tax by 0.5% instead of replacing the state’s expiring 1% grocery tax. His plan aimed to ease grocery costs for residents and generate additional revenue from visitors by effectively lowering the sales tax on groceries while raising the sales tax on other goods and services. More details about Beran’s proposal are available in this story on Riverbender.com.
100% of the state’s 1% sales tax on groceries had gone directly to municipalities since 1990. With that tax set to expire on Jan. 1, 2026, Godfrey faces an anticipated loss of $800,000 in annual sales tax revenue. If approved, this ordinance would mark a different approach in making up for that lost revenue from other local municipalities, including Belleville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Jerseyville, and Wood River
Godfrey trustees are set to consider the new sales tax ordinance this Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 6 p.m. Follow the discussion and vote on this and other items live on Riverbender.com/video/liveand stay tuned to Riverbender.com for the latest updates.
