In early February, Dallas County attorney John Kelly, approached the Orrville Town Council about a portion of a beer tax that could legally no longer go to the town.

Since 1994, the beer tax has provided funds for Orrville, funds estimated at $7,000 annually for the last two years.

When Dallas County underwent its annual audit, auditors discovered legislation from 1995 that suspended a previous act and excluded Orrville’s rights to a portion of the beer tax collected from beer sold in town’s limits.

The beer tax now collects solely from distributors who sell beer to the ABC board, then, “remit that tax according to the law,” Kelly told the council.

Dallas County Probate Judge Ballard said Monday, following a Dallas County Commission meeting, the commission is, “trying to get some legislation passed that would us to restore the funding to Orrville through the beer tax.”

Ballard said he and the members of the  commission have spoken to state Sen. Hank Sanders and state Rep. Dario Melton and both are in the process of drafting legislation that would change the law and allow Dallas County to restore funding through the beer tax to Orrville.

“We never wanted to stop giving [Orrville] the money, but the auditors, by the way the law was worded, said that we could not legally give that to them,” Ballard said. “I think before the legislation is over we will be able to restore that funding.”

Ballard said he is, “confident the legislation will go through based on information from the legislative delegation,” and he has asked the auditors not discontinue funding from Orrville retroactively, but just stop the funding where it is.