Officials petition for tourism tax
Published 11:27 am Friday, January 24, 2014
For years, surrounding towns and cities have benefited from self-promotion. Tourist events and attractions in their areas, usually listed on regularly updated websites and available to tourists and citizens alike have led to increased commerce. The commerce, generated by a tax on tourism, is part of a cycle of revenue that the city of Brookhaven has missed out on for years.
This week, the board of aldermen implemented the first step in applying a Tourism and Economic Development Tax on overnight area hotel stays. The board voted unanimously Tuesday night in favor of sending a petition in favor of the tax to the Mississippi Legislature.
“With the trend of small towns losing their young people to metropolitan areas for jobs and lifestyle, we must use every tool possible to keep Brookhaven competitive,” said Mayor Joe Cox at the board of aldermen’s meeting.
The Tourism and Economic Development Tax is a 3 percent tax imposed on the gross proceeds of any hotels, motels and bed and breakfast in the city. The tax would only include overnight stays and would not apply to area restaurants.
Funds collected from the tax would be allocated for a specific use. “The goal is to accumulate funds and to use the money as a tool for the branding and imaging of the city of Brookhaven,” Ward Six Alderman David Phillips said Wednesday.
City officials say a number of steps are involved in the approval and passage of the Tourism and Economic Development Tax. If legislators approve the petition, the proposed tax will then have to be voted on by at least 60 percent of voters in a future city election. At that time, the proposed tax will then appear on the voter ballot as a referendum.
At this time, the ability to allocate monies for marketing and advertising that would help bring in potential commerce is under-developed and under-funded, said Terry Reid, Brookhaven Parks and Recreation director.
One essential way to convince people to travel to Brookhaven for multi-day events is to have an attractive, yet informative, web presence. This will require web page improvements, which are long overdue in the opinion of Reid and others.
The tax is a familiar stream of revenue for surrounding towns and cities, Phillips noted. The proposed tax would fall in line with current tax rates in McComb and Natchez.
In 2005, McComb instituted a 3 percent tax on the gross proceeds of sales derived from room rentals of hotels and motels.
Since 1973, the city of Natchez has had a 3 percent tax on the gross proceeds of hotels and motels.
In 2008, Natchez added a two-dollar per day tax of each occupied hotel or motel room, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
Natchez, with a population of close to 16,000 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau, receives close to half a million dollars in revenue from tax on hotels alone. Brookhaven has a population of just over 12,500 persons.
“Think of what that money could do for the city,” said Phillips.
Use of the funds will be overseen by the mayor, city clerk and board of aldermen. The city will be obligated by law to use the funds for specific purposes, according to Phillips.
“We feel that within 18 months, if the tax is approved, more overnight stays in the city will result,” said Phillips.
While Brookhaven isn’t necessarily considered a destination city, not yet anyway, its location off of Interstate 55 is something many other municipalities – such as Natchez – envy,” said Phillips. “We would like to take advantage of this.”
Area parks and museums, events such as the Ole Brook Festival and the Christmas parade and facilities such as the Lincoln Civic Center, FEMA 361 shelter/building and other venues could see increased commerce if the tax is implemented, and are expected to be promoted as key events and facilities to entice tourists to the area.
In many markets, sports marketing has provided a huge boon to municipalities. Yet, the ability of Brookhaven to bid on these events is largely restricted by a lack of funds, which puts the city at a disadvantage compared to other, often comparable municipalities, noted Reid.
In a separate development earlier this week, a proposal to construct a new youth baseball facility complex with five lighted fields and a concession stand with a press box was presented to the county board of supervisors by a local group and, if approved, would add additional facilities for games and tournaments.
In the past, funding for projects that would lead to elevating the appearance of Brookhaven as a potential tourist location have had to stand on the sidelines, limited by a fact of life in other municipalities. That could soon change.
“We as city officials have the dual obligation of delivering city services in the most efficient manner possible each and every day. We also have the obligation of preparing the city to be competitive and successful so our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to live, work and raise their families in Brookhaven,” Cox explained.