Residents of Monroe County expressed their disapproval Wednesday of a proposed food and beverage tax that would fund an expansion of the convention center in downtown Bloomington, doubting the county at large would benefit from the influx of tourism jobs and out-of-town money that proponents of the measure have touted.
More than a dozen people came to the Ellettsville Fire Station to speak before Monroe County Council member
Marty Hawk, Ellettsville Town Council President Dan Swafford and Monroe County Commissioner Patrick Stoffers. The sentiment leaned heavily against a 1 percent sales tax on food and beverage items that the county council is considering as a levy to support the expansion of the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center.
Marty Hawk, Ellettsville Town Council President Dan Swafford and Monroe County Commissioner Patrick Stoffers. The sentiment leaned heavily against a 1 percent sales tax on food and beverage items that the county council is considering as a levy to support the expansion of the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center.
People who do not live within Bloomington’s city limits said they saw the convention center as more of a Bloomington entity and did not seem to support a tax that would affect the entire county, especially if the facility can’t bring in the additional events officials are anticipating. Visit Bloomington director Mike McAfee said at the meeting that the city turns away about 40 events a year because of a lack of space in the convention center and surrounding hotels.
McAfee estimated an expanded convention center could bring about $15 million in additional revenue to the county per year. But there were concerns about how many of the people attending these new events will be local and will not spend money on a hotel or do much other extra spending. There was also a sentiment that a food and beverage tax for this particular project was government stepping outside of its realm to create something the free market wouldn’t.
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