CITY LODGING TAX DECREASES AS CITY COUNCIL CONTINUE TO SPEND A NON-EXISTENT SURPLUS
2-19-07
Our contact in the City Finance Office has provided us the following figures WHICH SHOW THE CITY LODGING TAX HAS DECREASED $29,841.63 since October 1st compared to the same months last year. This means that fewer people are visiting Selma and staying overnight (thus not paying a lodging tax charged by our motels).
Following is the City's Tourism Budget which is funded by the Lodging Tax.
Note: (1) That $217,200.00 of the Budget is GIVEN by the City to the Centre for Commerce, which then distributes the money to the various organizations listed (2) That $50,000.00 is given to the local Economic Development Authority (EDA) for industrial development and (3) The remaining $20,000.00 for St. James Refurbishing and Main Street is paid by the City.
The total TOURISM (Lodging Tax) Budget is $287,000.00 HOWEVER, THE PERKINS ADMINISTRATION PROJECTED THE LODGING TAX WOULD BRING IN $350,973.00 this fiscal year - Leaving a SURPLUS of $63,773.00.
We will not comment on some of the items in the Tourism Budget, but some of them are SUSPECT to say the LEAST.
Because the Perkins Administration projected a $63,973.00 surplus in the Lodging Tax revenue for this fiscal year, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN SPENDING THIS NON-EXISTENT MONEY LIKE IT IS GOING OUT OF STYLE. In less than 5 months of this fiscal year, the Council has spent $40,000.00 from this NON-EXISTENT UNAPPROPRIATED SURPLUS.
We say "non-existent surplus" because the revenues are DOWN $29,841.00 JUST TO MEET THE OBLIGATED ITEMS IN THE LODGING TAX/TOURISM BUDGET. Interestingly, only the Battle of Selma, which we didn't have last year, has the potential to get the Lodging revenues back up, BUT DO YOU SEE ANY MONEY IN THE TOURISM BUDGET WHICH PROMOTES THE BATTLE???
The Perkins administration badly missed the mark in projecting $350,000.00 in Lodging Tax Revenues this year AND THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULD STOP SPENDING MONEY THAT DOES NOT EXIST!
