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Lake County bed tax increase considered
By Maggi Martin, Plain Dealer
Reporter EASTLAKE - Mayor Dan DiLiberto told residents during a local cable show yesterday that the county bed tax will be more than doubled to help finance the city's minor league baseball stadium now under construction. However, Lake County commissioners have yet to vote on a Lake County Visitors Bureau proposal that would raise the tax on hotel stays from 1.25 percent to 3 percent per room. DiLiberto said on the program that a deal with the visitors bureau will bring Eastlake $2 million for stadium construction over the next 10 years. It will also bring the visitors bureau a new office in the stadium complex, he said. Bob Ulas, director of the visitors bureau, said the bureau has passed a resolution asking that commissioners pass the tax increase. "Most of that money will be earmarked for stadium renovations," he said. Commissioner Daniel Troy said the tax will not be voted on until more legal research is completed. "We need to make sure that the visitors bureau can earmark money for capital improvement projects like the stadium," Troy said. "The stadium seems to have widespread support, but we need to check the legalities." He said other agencies, such as the Fine Arts Council, also are seeking bed tax dollars. If commissioners approve it, Ulas said, the bed tax increase will start in January. He said that even with state and local taxes added in, Lake County's bed tax still will be lower than those in other cities. Lake County's total bed tax will be 12 percent if the increase is approved. Cities including Ashtabula, Beachwood and Cleveland charge 14 percent or more, Ulas said. Bed tax revenue has fluctuated the last few years. In 2001, the tax raised $339,946 for the visitors bureau. This year, Ulas estimated, the tax would bring in $314,730. Most of that is spent on advertising and promoting Lake County, he said. DiLiberto told cable viewers the $15 million stadium would make Eastlake "the focal point of the county." The Lake County Captains, the Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, will begin playing in April. Only one of the county's 21 hotels is in
Eastlake. |
