(South Boston, Va.) — The Town of South Boston is considering a 25-cent tax on a pack of cigarettes to pay for salary increases for the town’s lowest-paid workers.

The Town Council has set a June 11 public hearing on a proposed excise tax on cigarettes, effective Aug. 1. The new tax is expected to generate about $150,000 a year, which would be used to fund pay hikes for 43 town employees who make less than $40,000 a year.

Beneficiaries would include a dozen South Boston police officers and six firefighters who work for the town.

The cost of increasing their salaries has been put at around $55,000 annually. The rest of the money from the cigarette tax would go into the town’s general fund.