Monroe County is inching closer to a food and beverage tax, with a discussion of an interlocal agreement between the county and the city of Bloomington slated for the county council’s next meeting.
Tuesday, the Monroe County Council will resume its consideration of the proposed 1 percent food and beverage tax, this time focusing on an agreement between the city and the county that will guide how the tax money is distributed.
State legislation allows the county to implement a 1 percent countywide food and beverage tax on items purchased in restaurants and bars, in order to support a convention center, conference center or other tourism activity. Food purchased in grocery stores would be excluded from the tax.
Right now, the interlocal agreement is in a draft form, and council members will have the opportunity to provide input, said Michael Flory, lawyer for the council and author of the draft. Council President Geoff McKim, county attorney Jeff Cockerill, city attorney Margie Rice and Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington Inc. and the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center, provided input for the draft.
“We view this as a joint project, and we have a joint interest with seeing this as a successful project,” Flory said. “We’re going to view it as one pot for the bond
for the convention center.” State legislation designates that food and beverage taxes raised in the city of Bloomington go to the city. All other money raised in the county, including in Ellettsville and Stinesville, would go to the county. Right now, the draft lays out that all money raised by the food and beverage tax should be available to pay for any outstanding debt for the convention center construction
, and that each party will pay part of the bond based on the percentage raised in a party’s area. For example, if the city generates 75 percent of the revenue, it will contribute 75 percent of the bond payment, and the county the rest. Likewise, if the county generates 75 percent of the revenue, then it would contribute 75 percent of the bond payment, with the city contributing the smaller portion.
“This is making clear that if we have ongoing debt that we have to make payments on, this will be our top priority,” Flory said.
The interlocal agreement just formally states that the county and the city plan for the convention center to be the top priority for the tax money, McKim said.
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An interlocal agreement is the first benchmark goal, and council members said at previous meetings they would like to have it in place before a vote on the tax is taken. Right now, public hearings are expected to be held May 14 and June 11. A final vote could be taken in June.
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2013/04/21/news.city-county-refining-new-tax-proposal.sto?1366559434
