Council debates entertainment‑tax options but officials say legal and contract limits constrain new ticket levies

Council members asked the administration to pursue additional non‑property revenue options to reduce pressure on homeowners, including entertainment taxes, developer impact fees and transfer taxes.

"We did have an RFP done last year, where we explored what other revenues ... so I wanted to explore and see if we can implement that here for Allentown," Miss Patel said, describing prior work to assess other revenue tools.

Multiple council members said venues such as the Archer and other downtown attractions appeared to be obvious candidates for a ticket or entertainment tax. Administration and staff explained that limits exist in the city's home‑rule charter and in specific legislation and contracts covering certain venues. Mister Glaser (administration/staff) told council that the Iron Pigs agreement is with the county and that the city is not a party to that contract, limiting the city's bargaining leverage.

"The entertainment taxes on institutions downtown ... are explicitly, explicitly, cannot be done through the original NIST legislation," Mister Glaser said, arguing that state law and development agreements restrict taxing some ticketed events in redevelopment zones. He cautioned that reopening or seeking amendments to such laws and contracts could produce unintended outcomes.

Council members suggested forming a committee to study whether and how the city could pursue entertainment taxes, transfer taxes and impact fees, and Miss Patel confirmed the administration had explored several avenues but noted statutory and contractual constraints.

No formal vote was taken; council directed staff to continue study and to bring back more information and larger samples as requested.