By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

Two cities in Rooks County will be looking to raise their respective sales tax rates in the April 7 election.

Stockton will ask residents for a 0.5-percent increase in the city sales tax to fund capital improvements to the city-owned nursing home, Solomon Valley Manor.

"The (commission's) hope is that after nine years, they'll re-evaluate and look at it and look into construction of a new manor," City Manager Keith Schlaegel said.

If passed, the additional sales tax would begin July 1 and sunset after 10 years. The money collected from the tax would be put into a capital improvement fund for the manor, Schlaegel said.

Solomon Valley Manor is about 40 years old and usually is near capacity with about 30 residents.

Schlaegel said it would be difficult to remodel the existing manor, so commissioners are looking to build something "less institutional, more of a pod, more of a homey-type nursing home."

Stockton already allocates 0.5 percent of its existing sales tax for the Solomon Valley Manor. Another 1 percent is allotted to the city's water system.

In Plainville, voters will have a say on a 1 percent sales tax to provide additional revenue for the city.

"We're not in financial problems yet, but we don't know what we're going to get from the state or the county," Plainville Mayor Shirley Hendrex said.

All revenues from the sales tax would go into the general fund. If passed, the sales tax would be tacked on to an existing 1 percent sales tax.

Hendrex said the city opted for a sales tax rather than increasing its mill levy.

"We figured this would be a more even way to do it instead of just raising our mill levy. That would just affect the landowners, and we didn't want to do that," Hendrex said.