Council wants to put resort tax on the ballot

By RICHARD HANNERS

Whitefish Pilot

The idea of increasing the city's resort tax to 3 percent reared its head again last week — but this time something might actually happen.

The city's Resort Tax Moni-toring Committee told the Whitefish City Council on June 18 that committee members favored holding the tax at 2 percent.

The committee also recommended that it discontinue working with the Heart of Whitefish downtown merchants association to study ways to broad-base the tax but continue to look at additional non-exempt items that could be placed on a ballot initiative.

About 200 businesses in Whitefish pay a 2 percent resort tax, which is used for street reconstruction, property tax rebates, and parks and trail projects. Revenue from the tax has increased by about 8.5 to 9.5 percent a year over the past 10 years, according to auditors Denning, Downey & Associates.

Sixty-five percent of the resort tax money goes into streets, adding up to about $7.6 million since the tax was put in place in February 1996. The property tax rebate lowers the effective mill rate from 111.21 to 87.68, reducing city property taxes by 21 percent.

Several city councilors have said in the past that they favored raising the tax to 3 percent.

Deputy mayor Cris Coughlin said she wanted to hear from the Heart of Whitefish before making any proposals.

Councilor Nancy Woodruff said she wanted to know what the resort tax committee's reasons were for not recommending an increase.

Councilor Nick Palmer said he found it "upsetting" that the committee would not support the council, which has talked about raising the resort tax in its goal-setting sessions.

"They won't recognize how the tax helps the community," he said.

Palmer said he'd like to see part of the resort tax spent on debt, such as funding an emergency-services facility.

"It's just 50 cents on a $50 meal," he said.

Councilor Velvet Phillips-Sullivan said she agreed with Palmer and wanted to see a proposal to raise the tax to 3 percent put on the ballot.

Councilor Shirley Jacobson, who represents the council on the resort tax committee, noted that the committee was primarily made up of businessmen.

"It's not their decision or the council's," she said. "It should go to a vote and be decided by the taxpayers."

The council agreed to discuss the idea of placing a resort tax increase on the ballot at one of their next two meetings.