Star Journal

Top Menu

  • Contact Us
  • Hodag Star Journal E-Edition
  • Subscribe

Main Menu

  • Local
    • News
    • Business
    • Schools
    • Law & Order
    • Arts & Ent
    • Wedding Planner
    • Viewpoint
    • Sports
      • Sports News
      • High School Sports Scores
  • Covid 19
  • Outdoors
  • Wellness
  • Classifieds
  • Obits
  • Lake View
  • Northwoods NOW
  • Living On The Lake
  • Contact Us
  • Hodag Star Journal E-Edition
  • Subscribe

logo

Star Journal

  • Local
    • News
    • Business
    • Schools
    • Law & Order
    • Arts & Ent
    • Wedding Planner
    • Viewpoint
    • Sports
      • Sports News
      • High School Sports Scores
  • Covid 19
  • Outdoors
  • Wellness
  • Classifieds
  • Obits
  • Lake View
  • Northwoods NOW
  • Living On The Lake
LocalNews
Home›Local›Finance committee discusses revising room tax ordinance

Finance committee discusses revising room tax ordinance

By Star Journal
September 6, 2017
651
0
Share:

Proposed language would change allocations, marketing committee membership

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Rhinelander’s Finance, Wage and Salary Committee is considering possible changes to the city code as it relates to the area’s accommodation tax, such as for how the tax is distributed and who would be members of the Rhinelander Tourism Marketing Committee which oversees allocations from the tax.

Finance Committee members discussed a draft of revisions for the applicable city code that interim city administrator Keith Kost distributed at Tuesday’s meeting.

As drafted, the code would be changed to eliminate the city receiving an administrative fee equal to 3 percent of the total room tax collected annually within the city of Rhinelander. The percentage allocated to the city for the cost of maintenance and improvement of recreational facilities and promotional projects would also be reduced from 35 to 30 percent.

While 40 percent would continue to be allocated to the Rhinelander Tourism Marketing Committee to support a destination marketing program serving the Rhinelander area, as well as 17 percent to the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce for Visitor Center operations and 5 percent to the Rhinelander Tourism Marketing Committee in support of local community organizations and programs, the drafted revisions call for allocating 8 percent to city-designated marketing.

Finance Committee chairman Mark Pelletier informed the committee that the previous room tax contract expired at the end of last year.

“I don’t think there’s any rush on any of this, but this needs to be looked at to get things rolling, at least,” Pelletier said.

After committee member Sherrie Belliveau raised her objections about how the drafted language would change the allocations, committee member Alex Young noted a change in state law prohibits an administrative fee for room tax collections.

“Some of the (allocation) percentages in there reflect the new statutory language also that we now have to do this,” Young said. “There’s a couple moving parts here. No. 1, you’ve got the contract between the city and the other parties that governs this that I guess has expired. And No. 2, you’ve got our actual ordinance that spells out who these representatives are (on the Tourism Marketing Committee).”

Young also raised the issue of transparency, given the Tourism Marketing Committee is considered a tourism commission under state law with the members appointed by the mayor.

“If that’s true, I do have the ongoing concern that I don’t see the financials, I don’t see the minutes, I don’t see the agendas – they’re not on the City Hall calendar, they’re not sent out by email like every other city committee,” he said. “And that kind of bothers me that I’m making decisions on things I don’t get to see the information behind it.

“It may be working really well – tough for me to say that when I don’t get to see the financials, the agendas or the minutes.”

Pelletier said the language in the ordinance defined the Tourism Marketing Committee as a chamber committee when it is actually a city committee.

Belliveau agreed the Tourism Marketing Committee is a city committee and should be subject to the requirements of the state’s Open Meetings Law.

“I think it has to be that way,” she said. “I mean, anybody who sits on that committee is the one whose butt’s on the line if something goes wrong.”

City attorney Carrie Miljevich said a room tax committee, which is created by one or more municipalities, is a municipal committee instead of a chamber committee.

In addition to revising the accommodation tax ordinance to reflect changes in state law, Young said the local room tax contract needs to be changed.

“We need to establish in that contract who is going to be responsible for making sure that these things get posted and distributed and sent out to everybody, so we’re all on the same page,” he said.

Pelletier, who is on the Tourism Marketing Committee as the chairman of the city’s Finance Committee, noted language revisions as to who could be on the Tourism Marketing Committee would allow the mayor, who is a non-voting member, and chamber president or another officer, not just the treasurer, to be voting members.

“It was too fine tuned that it became impossible to get a quorum sometimes,” he said.

Committee members agreed with a suggestion from Kost to have Miljevich meet with chamber executive director Maggie Steffen to put together a new proposed room tax contract that could be brought back to the Finance Committee for its consideration next month.

TagsFeaturedKeith KostMaggie SteffenRhinelander Area Chamber of CommerceRhinelander Finance CommitteeRhinelander Tourism Marketing CommitteeRoom tax
Previous Article

Obituary: Gary Cline

Next Article

Sponsorship to law enforcement academy proposed for ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • LocalNews

    City finance committee trims proposed 2017 budget

    October 25, 2016
    By Star Journal
  • LocalNews

    One ethics complaint dropped, another pending against city council member

    October 11, 2016
    By Star Journal
  • Arts & Ent

    Animal Dreams at ArtStart

    June 6, 2015
    By StarJournal
  • Law & OrderLocalNews

    Ex-bank employee accused of embezzlement to be sentenced

    May 16, 2017
    By Star Journal
  • Schools

    Jeans for Teens drive a ‘success’

    January 18, 2018
    By StarJournal
  • Latest NewsLaw & Order

    Judge to rule on restitution in Ashlee Martinson homicide case

    August 17, 2016
    By Star Journal

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

About Us


Star Journal is published by Multi Media Channels LLC, N2919 County Road QQ Waupaca, WI 54981.

Timeline

  • January 18, 2021

    Obituary: William Rosenkranz

  • January 15, 2021

    Chamber credits programs for increased local spending

  • January 14, 2021

    Sign up available for DHS newsletters on COVID, vaccine

  • January 14, 2021

    Hodags dominate in the Lakeland pool

  • January 14, 2021

    Hodag girls win two this week

Find us on Facebook

  • Contact Us
  • Hodag Star Journal E-Edition
  • Subscribe
Copyright © 2020 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×