Hotel/motel tax up for vote in Charleston

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Charleston voters will decide Tuesday whether or not to establish a "bed tax" in the city.

"We hope to pass a 5 percent hotel-motel tax to raise money to promote tourism," said Claudia Arington, executive director of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce. "We're very excited and hoping it will pass to give Charleston a boost. ... We want to concentrate on bringing visitors to our beautiful little town. We have so much here to offer."

Charleston has two hotels and a motel, with a total of 119 rooms. Daniel M. Gruen, city manager, said he thinks the annual revenue from the tax would be about $50,000 to $60,000. "It could be more than that, it could be less than that. It's very hard to tell," he said.

He said 5 percent is the maximum allowed by state statutes. Most communities who establish a bed tax set the rate between 3 and 5 percent, he said.

"The initiative is driven by the Charleston Chamber of Commerce," Gruen said. "The city is not officially taking a position in support of or in opposition to the tax. The city council is letting the voters decide the issue and the chamber of commerce make its case for the initiative."

In researching the idea to present to the Chamber of Commerce's board of directors, Arington said she found "most towns around have a motel-hotel tax."

She said those who stay in a hotel or motel almost anywhere will find the tax on their bill. "We were wanting to capitalize on some of that ourselves," Arington said. "During our four-day Dogwood-Azalea Festival, over a $1 million is generated in our town."

Arington said if the tax is approved by voters, a tourism board would be established to concentrate on bringing visitors to Charleston. Supporters of the tax also hope to increase Charleston's Web presence, improve restroom facilities in Rolwing Park and help improve the local parks, among other projects, she said.

She said they are "just getting started" on ideas for the revenue that would be generated by the proposed tax.

"We just want to stress most of all that this will not raise taxes on anyone in town," Arington said.

Even so, some members of the community have already expressed their opposition to the idea.

"We're against it," said Jay Patel, general manager of the Comfort Inn. "Our opposition to it is that this is not the time to put a 5 percent tax on travelers. You are trying to get people on the road." Bed taxes in other area towns are not a reason to approve one in Charleston but rather a reason keep the status quo, Patel said. "Charleston has an advantage over the surrounding area because we don't have the 5 percent tax."

Patel said some also oppose the bed tax because "other than the annual Dogwood-Azalea Festival, there isn't an event that would justify the tax."

He said the proposed tax is being pitched as a way of bringing in money from travelers on Interstate 57 but would also have an indirect effect on the city's residents.

"Any family members here for weddings or other family events would also be charged that same 5 percent," he said.

No matter how residents view the proposed tax, Gruen said, they should be aware that no city funds are involved in the proposal.

"There are no city tax dollars being spent on behalf of the campaign -- not one dime," he said. "The cost of the election, approximately $3,000, is being paid for privately as well."

Patel suggested that those who are spending their money to hold an election and to promote approval of the tax should dedicate those funds to the end goals.

"Why can't they use the money to fix Rolwing Park up?" he asked.