The Hidden 3rd Option

Here is the break-down of the Madison debate over the hotel tax.

The City of Madison has a 9% hotel tax that is expected to bring in about $8.77 million in revenue this year.

Economic Development, Small Businesses, Monona Terrace & the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau
20% of the hotel tax (about $1.76 million) is earmarked for "destination marketing" or marketing conducted by the designed Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau to attract visitors to Madison.

$5.1 million is set aside for supporting the operation of the Monona Terrace Convention Center.

Another $690,000 is put in a "rainy day" reserve.

In an effort to generate more visitors and business for Madison, small businesses in Madison, the Monona Terrace and the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau want the percentage earmarked for destination marketing to be increased to 35%.

Mayor Dave & City of Madison
A little less than another 20% goes to the city of Madison (about $1.2 million) to offset operating expenses in the city's budget.

But Madison's Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has a bunch of "big idea liberal projects" burning a hole in his pocket - so he wants to increase the percentage of the hotel tax earmarked for the city by $500,000 to $1 million a year.

The Hidden 3rd Option
I want to throw out a hidden 3rd option - Increase tourism in Madison by reducing the hotel tax, which will reduce the cost for visitors, which will allow more people to visit Madison and give them more discretionary money to spend while in town.

I find it ironic that "big government liberal Mayor Dave" is pushing his proposal under the guise of "property tax relief" yet he isn't cutting a check to Madison property tax payers.

Rather instead, the hotel tax money is being used to pay for the cost of Mayor Dave's big government ideas.

Visitors to Madison worked hard to earn their money, instead of using the hotel tax to fund Mayor Dave's big government ideas, let visitors keep more of their money and I bet you'll see most of them will spend it locally as they walk through the stores on State Street.