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Harford council’s debate on hotel tax revenue funding gets heated

Pointed fingers and angry recriminations punctuated the Harford County Council meeting on Tuesday night, as members argued about amendments to a hotel tax revenue bill that would alter the way revenue is distributed across the county.

Four amendments to Bill 23-034 passed on Tuesday by a 4-3 vote, changing a piece of legislation that was originally sponsored by District A Councilman Dion Guthrie, who said he attempted to try and fix the broken hotel tax revenue distribution system.

Guthrie, a Democrat, had sponsored the initial piece of legislation in November hoping it would correct the way the county distributes hotel tax revenue. Under current law, councilmanic districts without an incorporated municipality cannot route hotel tax revenues directly into their district, he said.

That means districts with incorporated municipalities, such as District’s E and F which include Aberdeen and Havre de Grace, receive 50% of hotel tax revenues. In contrast, those without, such as District A, which includes Joppatowne and Edgewood, currently receive none. The remaining tax revenues are distributed by the county administration in consultation with the tourism board.

Guthrie said organizations in District A had received “mere pennies” of the total amount of available hotel tax revenue raised in that district from a 6% tax on room rates.

After the passage of the amendments, districts without an incorporated municipality will receive 25% of the hotel tax generated in their district instead of the 50% that Guthrie had proposed.

“These amendments hurt our district,” Guthrie said of the votes.

In the nine years since the current funding distribution model was put in place in 2015, he said, District A had lost millions of dollars of possible revenue collected in the local community.

“I spent my whole day yesterday going to all nine hotels, speaking with the owners and the managers there,” Guthrie said. “These people are upset and they have every right to be upset.”

Guthrie read letters from hotel managers and owners in his area during the meeting and offered to connect other council members with them directly.

But District F Councilman Jacob Bennett, a Democrat, said percentages outlined in the legislation were only guides and that groups in all of the districts could apply for tourism grant money through county government.

“There’s nothing currently that stops anybody from advocating for money,” said Bennett. “No matter what percentage we put there, it doesn’t stop more money from coming to District A.”

Guthrie voted against the amendments, along with District B Councilman Aaron Penman and District E Councilwoman Jessica Boyle-Tsottles, both Republicans. All other council members supported the legislation.

“It’s a shame that 43,000 people may get screwed by one vote,” Guthrie said during the vote on the second amendment to his legislation, which would reduce the amount that unincorporated areas in the county could receive from hotel tax revenue from 50% to 25%.

“I have seen firsthand the impact these hotels have on different communities,” said Penman, who also spoke out against the amendments. “It’s time to invest in Edgewood and Joppa. I think this is short-sighted to reduce the distribution from 50% to 25%.”

All four votes fell along the same lines, as the council also passed amendments that would prevent council districts from rolling over tax revenues from one year to the next and removed language that would have allowed council members to directly approach the county executive for approval of grants, bypassing the tourism application process.

In other council business, members introduced Bill 24-001 which would allow for zoning of accessory dwelling units in Harford County. There was no discussion on the legislation, but it is slated for a hearing on Feb. 6.