Council delays action on lodging tax changes, administration scales airport payments to protect general fund

The Mobile City Council on Feb. 20 postponed consideration of ordinances tied to a proposed increase in the lodging tax and the Mobile Tourism Improvement District (TID), after city staff proposed reducing early payments to the Mobile Area Airport Authority (MAA) to prevent a negative impact on the city’s general fund.

City administration told the council it had negotiated an amendment that would reduce the payment to MAA in the initial years so the general fund baseline revenue would not be harmed. “MAA will not get $3,000,000 this year. They’ll get $1,000,000 and then it’ll go to $2,000,000 next year when we collect a full year of lodging tax,” an administration representative said. The administration said payments would increase incrementally and reach $3,000,000 annually by year four under the proposed schedule.

Why it matters: Council members said the TID and lodging-tax changes affect planned marketing dollars for Visit Mobile,…