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Forest Park council discusses places-of-eating tax as one option to plug budget gap
Summary
Council members debated a proposed places-of-eating tax to help close an estimated multimillion-dollar general-fund shortfall, but several members and local business owners said timing and harm to small businesses counsel caution; leaders said no tax would be enacted at this meeting.
Forest Park council members discussed a possible "places-of-eating" (restaurant) tax as one of several revenue options to address a reported general-fund deficit, but emphasized the village would not impose the tax immediately.
A council member (speaker 7) framed the tax as a tool used by neighboring towns and said Forest Park is "$4,000,000 in the hole in our general fund." The speaker said other local governments use the tax to stabilize budgets without shifting more burden to property owners.
Several council members and business owners in the audience pushed back, warning the tax would burden small businesses already coping with economic change. They suggested alternatives such as filling downtown vacancies to grow sales tax revenue, adjusting parking-ticket enforcement and late fees, and offering targeted incentives or façade grants to encourage sales-tax-generating uses.
Chair (speaker 1) cautioned that the village was not adopting the tax now and said the council would continue to explore options and revisit the idea in the future when economic conditions are more favorable. Staff and the finance director were praised for managing the village’s operations while the council weighs structural options to address pensions and other obligations.
No formal vote or ordinance was proposed at the meeting; council members asked staff to study impacts and to continue community outreach before any formal action.
