BANGOR – The City Council on Wednesday is expected to adopt a resolve showing its support for a local option sales tax to build a replacement for the aging Bangor Auditorium.

The plan, which must be approved by both the state Legislature and the governor, would allow one or more municipalities in a region to impose a local sales tax of up to 1 percent for no more than five years to fund a specific, regional project.

The tax, which has experienced varying degrees of failure in Augusta during the past decade, has gradually become the mechanism of choice for city officials to pay for a new auditorium, most recent estimates for which come in at between $28 million and $30 million.

Renamed the debt avoidance act – admittedly to avoid the “tax” stigma – the legislation has even won favor with the more conservative councilors, who say the 1-percent sales tax, with all its restrictions, is the fairest way to pay for a new auditorium.

“I’m generally not for new taxes,” said Councilor David Nealley, who, despite his stated aversion to taxes, added that he would support the resolve. “But given its purpose and the fact that it’s limited to five years or the dollar amount, I don’t see where we have a choice considering the fairly significant economic boost that a new auditorium and civic center would provide.”

The City Council will discuss the resolve at its 7:30 p.m. meeting in City Hall.

Under the latest incarnation of the local option sales tax – which has traditionally riled business owners and rural legislators – a municipality or region could only impose the tax if voters at referendum approved. The tax would apply to goods in a community for five years or until enough money was raised to pay for the project.

To allay concerns of “big ticket” item dealers – some of the idea’s traditional opponents – the new proposal would apply to only the first $5,000 on a major purchase. As in previous plans, a percentage of proceeds would go to surrounding areas, probably through the state Revenue Sharing program.

Once the five years are up, the city cannot ask voters to approve another local sales tax for at least three years.

Despite the restrictions, City Manager Edward Barrett last week estimated that the tax would bring in from $6 million to $8 million to the city each year to pay for the auditorium – the replacement of which is on track to become the most expensive capital project in the city’s history.

The effort to replace the 45-year-old auditorium at Bass Park – and likely reconfigure the city-owned park in the process – has gained momentum in recent months. A committee studying the issue last week issued its final report on the auditorium, which the committee concluded should be replaced with a new 6,000-seat arena.

According to city estimates, the facility attracts 300,000 people and about $30 million to the city each year.

And, when talking about paying for the new arena, city councilors are quick to remind the public that Bangor residents are not the only people who use the auditorium, and should not be the only taxpayers to pay for it.

“Everybody wants it but nobody wants to pay for it,” Councilor Frank Farrington said. “This is the easiest and fairest way to pay for it because it’s regional.”

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the council is expected to confirm the appointment of Rebecca Hupp as director of Bangor International Airport.