It will cost a little more to stay in St. Charles if the City Council goes along with a proposed 67 percent increase in the city’s hotel/motel tax.
And although the measure is likely to be approved when presented next week, one alderman is accusing officicals sponsoring the plan of using the tax increase as a means of enacting revenge against the McArdle family, owners of the Pheasant Run Resort.
Ald. James Martin said Mayor Fred Norris and Ald. Sue Klinkhamer, chairman of the Finance Committee, want to get back at the McArdles for their role in organizing opposition to a planned Jewel/Target shopping center just west of the resort.
“It’s (not) coincidental that this comes right after the Target episode,” said Martin, who led the council opposition to the shopping center.
Norris denied Martin’s allegation and said the tax increase, to 5 percent from 3 percent, is the city’s method of raising additional revenue for street repairs.
Funds that otherwise would have been spent on such public works projects have been diverted during the last few years to pay for downtown improvements, the mayor said.
Klinkhamer said the city now has one of the lowest tax rates in the area. “It’s not just the McArdles,” she said, “it affects six or seven different places.”
St. Charles Finance Director Larry Maholland said the tax increase will generate about $225,000 more in annual revenue.
More Top Picks Best Winter Coats For Women Over 50