Transient guest tax committee backs plan to use Hotel Topeka revenue to repay city costs

TOPEKA, Kan. — The Transient Guest Tax Committee voted 2-0 Aug. 27 to forward to the City Council a plan that would impose an 8% transient guest tax (TGT) on Hotel Topeka and use revenues above a 2025 base year to help the city recover costs it has already paid on the property.

The committee chair, Michelle Hoefer, and committee member Spencer Duncan approved the motion to advance what staff labeled “option 2.” Deputy City Manager Braxton Copley briefed the committee on two policy options for repaying the city’s Hotel Topeka expenses and the fiscal projections supporting each option.

Why it matters: City staff told the committee the total of operating, capital, bond principal and interest related to Hotel Topeka through the current accounting is $17.7 million. Staff said those figures include $3.6 million in operating and capital expenses to date, about $8.7 million in bond principal and roughly $5.3 million in interest over 20 years. Under option 2, the city would assign an 8% TGT at Hotel Topeka (higher than the citywide rate) and apply the increment above a 2025 base year toward repayment until the costs are recouped.

What staff presented: Braxton Copley, deputy city manager,…