Hotels and motels in Gurnee will have to face increased penalties for not remitting tax money on time after a new ordinance was passed at Monday’s Village Board meeting.
During the meeting, the board approved two ordinances — one which would update the village’s municipal code in regards to how it collects hotel or motel occupancy tax and the penalties it can enact when taxes aren’t remitted in a timely manner; and one that allows the village to regulate and license hotels and motels, so that every hotel and motel in Gurnee would fall under the same regulations.
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The ordinances were first discussed at the Nov. 14 Village Board meeting, during which village attorney Bryan Winter went through a presentation on the licensing regulations that would be implemented through one of the ordinances.
Winter spoke at Monday’s meeting about the village’s need to update its municipal code, to help Gurnee collect taxes from hotels and motels in a more timely fashion.
The latter ordinance that was approved at the meeting addresses the village’s ability to collect taxes from hotels and motels. Gurnee collects taxes on every hotel and motel room in which guests stay, but according to a memo sent to the Village Board by Winter, during the past year the village experienced an increase in hotels and motels sending the occupancy taxes late.
The ordinance addresses that by increasing the penalty fine for any hotel or motel that submits its taxes late, from 1% to 5% of the amount of taxes owed. The village also added a penalty that would result in the suspension of a license, or revocation of a license for any hotels or motels that were found to not be remitting their occupancy tax as required.
The other ordinance that was approved dealt with regulating hotels and motels within the village. According to Winter’s presentation at the Nov. 14 meeting, the implementation of the licensing regulation ordinance will help maintain uniform standards among all of the village’s hotels, motels and extended-stay locations.
There are currently 12 hotels, or extended-stay hotels in Gurnee, which would all be subject to the new licensing regulations that were passed at the meeting.
Some of the regulations that were introduced through one of the ordinances, and will now be required in hotels within the village, are safety regulations that include having artificial lighting in public areas, video surveillance of all registers, entrances, exits and lobbies, as well as secure doors that are able to be locked between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The ordinance also outlaws some activity at the hotels, including loitering, hourly rentals and allowing guests to list the addresses of hotels, motels and extended-stay hotels as their permanent residence or mailing address.
The village’s hotels and motels will be monitored by the Gurnee police department to ensure that they’re in compliance with the new regulations, and the police department will also meet with hotel and motel licensees to review training programs, signage and other general procedures.