SNOW HILL – County officials agreed to move forward with increasing the room tax rate at the request of the Town of Ocean City.
On Tuesday, the Worcester County Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with plans to increase the room tax from 4.5 percent to 5 percent. The jump comes at the request of Ocean City leaders.
“What we would like to do is raise the room tax to be used for tourism related issues only, for destination marketing, for economic development, for special events, and to offset the costs of operating and having those special events on a year-round basis in Ocean City,” Mayor Rick Meehan told the commissioners Tuesday.
Meehan said the room tax hadn’t been raised in a decade but that it needed to be increased now to provide more money for marketing as well as to go toward the increased costs that came as a result of tourism. According to Meehan, Ocean City has seen more than $700,000 in increased expenses related to tourism. Police, EMS and public works costs have gone up.
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9 comments:
"Meehan said the room tax hadn’t been raised in a decade"
I call BS. The rate might not have been increased, but every year OC hotels increase the cost to rent a room therefore every year the town gets more room tax per room
Go right ahead, kill the goose to lay the golden egg. OC officials have a deplorable record of taxing virtually everything and anything.
Tourism use only
Hmmmm
Sure Rick
We believe you
Politicians are all crooked criminals
Steal steal steal
Done with OC.
Stop going to oc then they can build more welfare housing ?
I got news for ya, what OC wants in that county, OC gets.
A lot of for sale signs around OC.
Many hotel rooms, rental condos, rental townhouses go vacate during the week in season. Just imagine that available revenue that is never ever received. And Rickie is more worried about AirBnBer's note paying rental tax? HAHAHA
Find a way to get people to fill those empty rooms during the summer and maybe you won't have to ask for a rate hike OR the hotels charging so much.
$50 July 4th parking.... Can't even manage yourselves out of a paper bag!
By the way, how much were all those legal fees trying to get rid of the circus acts on the boardwalk? or the fight against the ice cream parlor?
Summer of 2019 is just getting started!
OC pricing themselves out of the market.
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