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Council adopts substitute lodging-tax ordinance; tourism improvement district continued
Summary
Mobile City Council substituted and approved Ordinance 34004, which amends the city lodging-tax provisions, and voted 6-0 to determine continuation of the Mobile Tourism Improvement District; Mayor William S. Stimpson and council members said the lodging tax is paid by hotel guests, not by residents who do not stay in hotels.
The Mobile City Council on March 11 approved a substituted version of Ordinance 34004, an amendment to Article 6 of Chapter 34 (lodging tax) of the City Code. Council members moved the substitute onto the agenda, voted to substitute the version on file in the clerk’s office and then approved the substituted ordinance.
Council also voted on Resolution 15005 to determine whether the Mobile Tourism Improvement District should be continued, modified or terminated; the resolution passed 6-0.
Supporters on the council said the lodging tax is largely paid by nonresidents who stay in city hotels and that the revenue will support visitor infrastructure such as the airport and the arena and capital projects in the city. Council Member Daves said while not every provision in the substitute pleased every councilor, the measure contained important elements that merited approval.
Mayor William S. Stimpson addressed public concern about who pays the tax: "Nobody else pays that tax. ... this is not a tax on the citizens of Mobile unless you go stay in a motel or a hotel," he said, adding that the revenues are intended to support projects tied to tourism and visitor services.
The substitute ordinance updated effective dates and other technical language on the ordinance file, per council discussion. Details of the ordinance’s revenue projections and specific allocation mechanisms were not read into the record at length during the meeting; council members who supported the measure said the additional revenue would be committed to projects including visitor services, airport improvements and arena financing.
The substitute ordinance and the TID continuation passed by voice vote; the transcript records a 6-0 vote on Resolution 15005.
