Riverside officials are expected to approve an ordinance Tuesday that will raise the town’s sales tax rate by 1 percent.

Members of the town council considered the first reading of the ordinance this week in an effort to increase the rate from 9 cents per dollar to 10, as neighboring municipalities have already done, Mayor Rusty Jessup said.

“Our citizens don’t think twice about going to Pell City or Lincoln to buy groceries or eat at restaurants and paying one penny more in sales tax,” he said.  “I think this measure will have little or no effect on how money is spent in Riverside.”

The council also decided to continue reading utility meters on a 60-day schedule, despite complaints from customers.

“We are in our third month of a six-month trial of reading meters every 60 days rather than every 30 days, and we are going to stay the course,” Jessup said.   “The reason is that it saves us money and productivity time for our employees.  We do not want to raise water rates, and this is one of many ways we are holding costs down.”

In other matters, the council:

• Agreed to spend $8,000 to replace the pier at Riverside Landing.  Replacement of the gasoline pump is awaiting approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

• Rescheduled its March 15 meeting to March 22.

• Adopted a resolution in support of the I-422 Northern Beltline project.  “We want to be on board with supporting it,” Jessup said.  “It will bring more economic development to the Birmingham metro area, of which Riverside is a part.”