By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The Pelham City Council will hold a special-called meeting on Thursday, July 25 to vote on a proposed city sales tax increase and on a resolution to lock in an interest rate for a city bond refinancing plan.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at Pelham City Hall after a 6:30 p.m. pre-meeting work session.

During the meeting, the council is set to vote on a proposal to raise the Pelham’s sales tax by 1 cent to feed a fund supporting the city’s schools.

The Pelham City Council originally considered suspending the rules of order to vote on the 1-cent sales tax increase during its July 15 meeting. However, the council only held the ordinance’s first reading after some city leaders said they were not yet ready to vote on the matter.

Some city leaders said they wanted to gather feedback from Pelham business owners during a July 23 Pelham business council meeting before voting on the tax increase.

If passed, the 1-cent sales tax increase would generate between $4.8 million-$5 million per year to feed a Pelham education fund. The school fund could only be spent on educational items defined by the council.

Also during the special-called meeting, the council is set to vote on a resolution to lock in an interest rate for a proposed city bond refinancing plan. If approved, the refinancing could save the city more than $1.4 million, council members said previously.