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Commission OK's guest tax hike
Published 3/9/2010 in Local News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Finney County commissioners have approved a rate increase on the transient guest tax from 4 percent to 6 percent, at the request of several area hoteliers and local tourism officials.
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Laurie SIsk/Telegram Front desk clerk Bella Razo, left, assists guest Allan Kazee of Colorado Springs, Colo., on Monday at the Clarion Inn.
A 2-percent increase could generate between $100,000 and $200,000 in additional annual revenue for the Finney County Convention and Tourism Bureau, which plans to use the funds to market existing and new events that its staff and area hoteliers hope will boost weekend occupancy rates, a longstanding concern of area hoteliers.
The commission on Monday voted 4-1 to approve the tax hike, with a "two-year sunset." That is, commissioners plan to reevaluate the impact of the tax hike after two years, leaving open the possibility of repealing the increase based on feedback from hotel business owners, they said.
Commissioner Don Doll opposed the rate increase Monday, citing his feelings that the bureau's use of tax dollars may not be accounted for. The bureau is chartered under the Garden City Area Chamber of Commerce with its own advisory board, but is a private organization.
The tourism bureau's director, Lynn Schoonover, said Monday that the additional tax revenue would be used in the following ways: to solicit sports tournaments to Garden City; increase signage for tourist-oriented attractions across the state; increase advertising through printed brochures and other materials, including possible billboard updates; work to rebrand Garden City and Finney County, including the possibility of working with local officials on their plans to redesign the city's gateways; and other projects that would encourage weekend travel to the area.
Schoonover and chamber president Paul Joseph, who was also present Monday, first broached the topic of a 2-percent guest tax increase during a Nov. 9, 2009, county commission meeting. It was an idea they had said hoteliers were "resoundingly on board" with, and a move that would allow the tourism bureau to "remain competitive" with neighboring communities such as Dodge City and Liberal, where the hotel occupancy tax rate is 6 percent. Commissioners, at the time, requested that they bring forth ideas on how to use the money.
At least 12 area hoteliers signed their names in support of the bureau's proposal, and several attended Monday's public meeting at the county administrative center.
The signature list of the bureau's hoteliers did not include Amro Samy, business owner at the Clarion Inn & Conference Center, 1911 E. Kansas Ave.
Samy said Tuesday he is not opposed to the tax hike and does not believe it will negatively affect occupancy rates. However, the Clarion business owner said he would prefer the tax funds be administrated by county officials and that there is "accountability" on how the tax dollars are spent.
"We definitely need to get the commissioners' hand in it to be sure that the money is going to heads in beds and not any other funding that doesn't put heads in beds," Samy said. "If (the tax increase) brings in another $200-grand, I just want to be sure that it's being used wisely."
During Monday's meeting, Commissioner Larry Jones said he supported the tax hike primarily because of the backing by the hotel business community, but speculated whether keeping the tax rate at its current level would be wiser, especially given that revenue from the bed tax has been on the rise over the last few years.
The 4-percent guest tax in Finney County generated about $401,000 in the 2009 fiscal year, July of 2008 to June of last year, an 18-percent increase in revenue from the previous fiscal year. In the prior fiscal year, the occupancy tax saw a 12-percent increase in revenue, according to Schoonover.
Commissioners also have proposed using some of the guest tax revenue to fund the Finney County Economic Development Corp., the publicly-funded group that works to retain and attract businesses and jobs in the county. Both the chamber's board of directors and advisory board of the tourism bureau opposed that option, Schoonover said Monday.
The new guest tax rate could take effect in a few months, after the charter resolution is published.
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