The Alachua County Commission unanimously approved a 2-cent tourist development tax increase Tuesday evening that will affect motels, hotels, campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks in the region.
The tax is being increased from 3 cents on the dollar to 5 cents on the dollar, which is a common rate in urban areas, said John Pricher, County Commission tourism program coordinator.
Before the increase, the tourist tax, also called the “bed tax,” had remained at 3 cents since 1992.
Pricher said a further increase in Alachua County from the new 5-cent rate would not be possible unless the state changes its statute.
According to the Florida Department of Revenue, 13 counties in Florida have at least a 5-cent tourist tax.
The tax increase takes effect May 1 in Alachua County, and it could generate up to $100,000 per year.
The Commission's tentative plans for the tax increase include three projects in Gainesville: reconstruction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center, The Cade Museum for Innovation and Invention and a new downtown conference center.
Also, some revenue from the tax would go toward the county’s plan to build a new Alachua County Fairgrounds, which would be located about 2 miles north of the current site on Waldo Road.
However, the county’s main plans for the project include constructing a 16-field youth baseball complex in Newberry.
The complex is projected to cost the county about $7 million.
Pricher said that within 40 weeks out of the year, the complex has the potential to bring 1,000 teams that will stay at hotels and spend money at restaurants in the region.
Jason Outler, High Springs Campground general manager, said he thinks the county decided to raise the tax before they had a plan.
“They wanted to raise the tax and then find the need,” he said. “That’s backward. It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
Nevertheless, Outler said he doesn’t have a problem with his share of the tax going toward the baseball complex because he thinks it will benefit his business.
“The baseball complex is 12 miles from my park, so we would support a moderate increase for it,” he said. “But these other things are nonsense.”
Shawn Stan, general manager of the Holiday Inn University Center in Gainesville, said the tax increase won’t be too much of a drawback for business at his hotel.
“It’s important to fuel that tourism engine,” he said, “because we all benefit when more tourism is brought to the county.”
However, Stan hopes the county makes sure the revenue from the tax is spent responsibly.
“Some organizations that received that money aren’t required to answer to hotels, so I see a problem with that,” Stan said.
Harold Adleman, co-owner of Travelers Campground in Alachua, said he doesn’t think the tourist tax is being used as it was originally intended.
“My understanding is that it was originally used to promote Florida, to get people to come,” Adleman said. “I think it’s the most ridiculous thing because they’re designing things [for which] it was never intended.”
Adleman added he doesn’t see a reason for any tax rate to be increased, especially when the economy is still down.
“I can’t help but feel that politicians have their head somewhere else,” Adleman said. “It’s spend more, spend more, spend more. They don’t care about the well-being of the people.”
