First Posted: 2/27/2015
LIMA — Local hoteliers have been anxiously following the evolution of an additional lodging tax intended to aid Veterans Memorial Civic Center through both capital improvements and the creation of a new marketing position. On Friday, they were able to bring their concerns directly to the Allen County commissioners.
This proposed tax would add 3 percent to a lodger’s hotel bill. The current lodging tax for Allen County is 6 percent, with 3 percent collected by the county and split between the Civic Center and the Lima/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, with the other 3 percent for the local municipality or township. What county commissioners are proposing is to reduce the county’s portion by 1.25 percent, the amount going to the Civic Center, resulting in a net lodging tax increase of 1.75 percent.
“We are sympathetic to the fact that they will be collecting this tax and it will go to their customers,” county commissioner Jay Begg said. “That’s why we’ve worked very diligently to try to come to a compromise.”
However, hoteliers are concerned that this new tax could hurt them in the long run. For instance, Jeff Lee, general manager of Lima’s Howard Johnson Inn, voiced concerns that area hotels with convention space would actually be funding a competitor.
“We have 5,000 square feet of event space,” he said. “I’m concerned that I will have to ask my customers to pay this increased tax, which will artificially inflate the cost of my business, and these tax dollars will go to fund my competitor.”
Courtyard general manager Dan Patterson asserted that not enough information about a long-term viability plan for the downtown venue.
“We have not seen a hard written plan,” he said. “We want to ensure that these dollars will have a significant enough impact on the facilities that they will bring people back to spend a day in the area.”
During the meeting, Robert Fitzgerald, president of the Civic Center Foundation, pointed to the work the Civic Center has already done to remain viable.
“The operation of that facility has been remarkable,” he said. “Considering the economy we dealt with, the demographics we’re dealing with as a smaller community, the downsizing in staff, stabilizing the operation of the facility, it’s been remarkable. You want a plan? I’ve seen it implimented.”
The deadline for commissioners to approve the additional tax is March 15.
