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Tourism group urges tightening room-tax enforcement; council backs ordinance changes
Summary
A representative of Destination Lake Winnebago region urged the council to tighten local room-tax language to hold noncompliant lodging operators accountable. City staff presented ordinance edits adding definitions and a permit-revocation enforcement tool; council expressed broad support to return the ordinance for adoption.
Molitor, speaking as president of the Destination Lake Winnebago region visitors bureau, urged the council to support proposed changes to the room tax ordinance and described the tax as a way to capture visitor-generated revenue. "The room tax is, in my opinion, a pass through tax," Molitor said, adding that the state statute allows hotels to pass the tax through to guests and that local residents are rarely the ones paying it.
City staff member Miss Hoffman explained the ordinance edits and emphasized a new failure-to-comply provision that would allow the city to revoke an innkeeper's permit for accounting or remittance failures. As Hoffman summarized, if a permit holder "fail[s] to do your accounting ... your permit can be taken away, and you'll no longer be able to operate." Council members asked about how often operators fail to remit and expressed support for bringing the revised ordinance back with the clarified language and enforcement tools.
Members of the council praised the clarity of the changes and thanked Molitor for his endorsement. The council did not vote on the ordinance at the meeting but signaled consensus to move the matter forward for formal adoption.
