SALEM — City residents will see an increase in motor vehicle license tax when renewing their vehicle’s registration starting in 2027.

The city council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an ordinance increasing the city’s permissive license tax to the maximum amount allowed under Ohio Revised Code, meaning that starting Jan. 1, 2027 city residents living in Columbiana County will see a $15 increase, while those in Mahoning County will see a $10 increase for a new total of $20 per vehicle in addition to the annual registration fee charged by the state.

When the city council first agreed to increase the permissive tax to the maximum it could assess it was intended to be done over the course of two years in increments of $7.50. Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey explained that there was an issue with the language of the first ordinance which was corrected in the new ordinance, and that in the interim the deadline to implement the first incremental increase in 2026 had passed so the increase will have to be done all at once.

“We would have liked to have done it incrementally, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Dickey.

Dickey also said that had the city not taken action to collect the remainder of the allowable tax permissive tax, that another municipal entity like the county could do so instead.

Council also approved a resolution authorizing City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello to enter into an agreement with a gas supplier for the city’s gas aggregation program. Cappuzzello said that the city’s current aggregation contract ends on Dec. 31, and that after collaborating with the city’s consultant AMPO it had been determined it would be best to move forward with a new agreement at a rate of $6.58 per thousand cubic feet. He said that the new agreement would be moving away from the typical 12-month term to an 18-month contract which will expire in June when gas rates “are typically more favorable.”

Cappuzzello also said that any residents who are not currently enrolled in the aggregation program but would like to be should call city hall and speak with him or City Administrative Secretary Debbie Bricker, noting that “it can take about two to three billing cycles to get your bill changed over if you’re coming into the program.”

The city council will meet next at 7 p.m. Oct. 7.