Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 12:02 pm
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Updated: 2:12 pm, Wed Sep 23, 2015.
The state Senate gave final approval this morning to legislation give the Cumberland County Commissioners control of hotel tax money that totals more than $5.6 million a year.
The bill also creates, modifies or increases hotel taxes in Moore County, Harnett County, Sanford and Wayne County. The bill next moves to the House.
Cumberland County’s hotel tax is 6 percent of the price of a room. Existing law – which would be replaced by this bill – directs a quarter of the revenue to the Crown Coliseum complex, a quarter to the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, and the rest to the promotion of tourism (and some of that portion must be used to promote the Crown).
To do the tourism promotion, about $2.5 million has been allocated to the Fayetteville Area Convention Visitors Bureau.
The new law would disband the Tourism Development Authority and put the county commissioners in charge of the money.
It also would change how the revenue is distributed.
The portion for tourism promotion would drop to 20 percent, or about $1.1 million. It would have 47 percent available for capital projects, 26 percent dedicated to projects, festivals, athletic tournaments and other events and activities that would promote travel or tourism in Cumberland County.
Seven percent would be earmarked for economic development.
Three trade organizations in North Carolina’s hospitality and tourism industry oppose the Cumberland County portion of the bill. They say most of the money should be used for advertising and promotion of travel and tourism.
The trade groups also want to keep the money in the hands of an appointed Tourism Development Authority, whose membership must include people in the local hotel industry. Elected officials would be tempted to use the money on pet projects, they say.
The trade groups said the legislation for Wayne County, Harnett County, Moore County and Sanford are acceptable to them.
The Harnett County portion would expand that county’s 6 percent hotel tax to the whole county. It’s currently just in Averasboro Township.
The Moore County section doubles its hotel tax, from 3 percent to 6 percent.
The section of the bill for Sanford changes the use of its 3 percent tax. Currently, all of the money underwrites the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center. The law change would put two-thirds of the revenue toward tourism promotion, and no more than one-third toward the civic center.
The Wayne County legislation creates a 1 percent room-occupancy tax in that county for tourism promotion.
Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at woolvertonp@fayobserver.com, in Raleigh at 919-828-7641 or in Fayetteville at 910-486-3512.
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Wednesday, September 23, 2015 12:02 pm.
Updated: 2:12 pm.
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