One Harford Councilman's Dissenting Opinion

From the Dagger and Harford Councilman Mike Perrone, Jr.:

Mike’s Musings…

On January 20, the County Council voted to pass a hotel tax of 6% here in Harford County. I voted against the tax for a number of reasons. First,I didn’t think a new tax would be appropriate when we have not yet been through a full year’s cycle of expense review. Second, there was nothing in the bill addressing or exempting those Harford County residents who are living in our motels. Third, I didn’t think creating a dedicated revenue stream to fund tourism was appropriate given there are so many other needs for county funding which need to compete with one another for general fund money. Fourth, I did not like the inequity which arose from allowing municipal governments to keep a portion of the tax revenue raised within their borders while unincorporated communities have no ability to receive or administer their own revenue.

Last but not least, I believe Harford County hotels had a competitive advantage over Baltimore County (and to a lesser extent, Cecil County) hotels. Baltimore County has an 8% hotel tax. Given how easy it is to get prices and book hotel rooms online now, someone travelling down I-95 and looking to spend the night now would have had a good reason to stay here in Harford County instead of Baltimore County. The same holds true for contractors I think. Not everyone staying in Harford County for business is doing business with APG, and I’m sure there are plenty of longer term business travelers who have historically chosen Harford County over Baltimore County for our hotel tax-free lodging.