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Council holds lodging-tax payment pending temporary resolution and March 1 compliance deadline
Summary
Baxter councilors voted to withhold the payment listed as Item 4 on the consent agenda — and any further lodging-tax payments — until the city adopts a temporary resolution at its first January meeting and receives a longer-term agreement by March 1 to ensure required oversight and a marketing plan.
Unidentified Speaker (council member) moved on Dec. 10 to pull Item 4 from the consent agenda and to withhold that payment and any further lodging-tax disbursements until the council adopts a temporary resolution at its first January meeting, with the expectation that a longer-term resolution will be in place by March 1.
The move followed council discussion of a legal memo from the city attorney that, the speaker said, requires a formal resolution, a contract or delegation agreement, and submission of an annual marketing program and budget before lodging-tax funds can be entrusted to a third party. ‘‘We were advised we needed a resolution, a contract, an agreement, and some accountability,’’ the unidentified council member said when explaining why they pulled Item 4 from the consent agenda.
City staff told the council the current check run includes the payment and that, in practice, payments are typically submitted the following month. City administration said it could prepare a resolution for council consideration in early January but noted additional finance work would be required if council delayed processing payments. ‘‘From an administration standpoint...there’s probably very little risk in regards to legality,’’ a staff member said, while advising that staff would need to process changes to the check run and prepare a resolution for council review.
After additional debate about the balance between avoiding immediate disruption and ensuring compliance, the council approved a motion (moved by an unnamed member and seconded) to hold the December payment and not make further lodging-tax disbursements until the council adopts a temporary resolution at its first January meeting. The motion also set an expectation that a more durable resolution, including the marketing plan and accountability measures described in the legal memo, be adopted on or before March 1.
The motion carried on a voice vote. The council then completed the remaining consent-agenda votes; one council member asked to be recorded as abstaining on a separate item.
What happens next: city staff will prepare a temporary resolution for the first January meeting and bring forward the legal and budgetary documentation the council requested. The council set a March 1 target for finalizing a longer-term resolution and related accountability documents.
