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reprinted from:
Critics offer alternative to
boosting bed tax
By Derek Catron In the business of attracting tourism dollars to New Smyrna Beach, local officials figure every penny counts- unless it's spent on the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. A long-running debate about how a proposed penny increase to the bed tax applied to hotel and motel rooms in the New Smyrna Beach area has taken a controversial turn. After a subcommittee of the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority recommended the increase, opponents suggested an alternative: Take a penny that's now going toward the debt on the Volusia County-owned Ocean Center and keep it in New Smyrna Beach. "We get no use of that money anyway," says Ted Ruta, a former member of the advertising authority. "The Ocean Center doesn't put people in our beds." Tourism officials are still exploring the idea, said John Vazquez, chairman of the advertising authority, which meets today in New Smyrna Beach. The authority- whose seven members are appointed by the County Council- met last week with County Council member Jim Ward and former state Rep. Jack Ascherl of New Smyrna Beach. The next step is finding out the terms of the original agreement that sent resort money from New Smyrna Beach to help pay for the Ocean Center, Vazquez said. "If it's viable (to get part of the money back), we need to find out," Vazquez said. "And if it's a dead end, we need to know that, too." At issue is an estimated $250,000- half of the money raised in southeast Volusia by the 2 percent tax. If left there, it would help fund more tourism advertising in the area or support development of a small convention center, Vazquez said. How the money is used depends on where it comes from. The state permits two kinds of resort taxes and has strict guidelines for how the money is spent. Currently, the advertising authority collects a 2 percent convention development tax that funds its $500,000 advertising and marketing budget. A separate 2 percent tourism development tax is assessed countywide. It's designed to pay for tourism-related capital improvements, such as the Ocean Center, which was built in 1985 and is scheduled to be paid off in 2013. The county raised more than $3.8 million from the tax in fiscal year 1996-97. Of that, about $2.6 million was used to pay off debt. The remaining money is used each year for operating costs and capital improvements, such as a $1.2 million roof project scheduled for this year. "The tax belongs to the county," said Hal Buckland, Volusia's director of economic resources. "It is my understanding that these dollars are committed to paying off the (Ocean Center) bond. The County Council has ultimate responsibility for it." If the authority needs more money for advertising, Buckland said, it can seek an increase to the local convention tax. Volusia has already approved such increases for the county's two other advertising authorities, Halifax and West Volusia. The New Smyrna Beach Hotel/Motel Association doesn't like that idea. "Our position is we think we tax the tourists enough," said Martin Willis, chairman of the hotel association and a member of the advertising authority. We're working to get some of that (existing tax) money back in New Smyrna Beach." Nevertheless, a subcommittee recommended the increase. The advertising authority postponed a vote on the matter last month and will discuss it further, Vazquez said. Whatever the outcome, the advertising authority's vote is not final. The County Council has the last word. "It's going to be a battle because they
don't want to give it back," Ruta said. "They'd rather have us just add another
percent to the tax. But why should we tax any more?" |
