Harford County residents and community leaders largely supported a proposed 6 percent lodging tax for the county, which would be charged to guests staying in Harford hotels for up to 30 days.
The Harford County Council held a public hearing on the proposal Tuesday night; council members did not vote on the bill.
The move would put Harford in line with all other Maryland jurisdictions, and many local officials, especially tourism leaders, have long pushed for the legislation to help drive tourism revenue.
The tax, which would apply to stays of less than 30 days on all of the county's 2,713 hotel rooms, is expected to generate about $2.75 million in annual revenue for the county.
County officials said at Tuesday's hearing the 6 percent rate was chosen as a median price; most other hotel taxes statewide range from 3 percent to 9.5 percent.
Washington, D.C., meanwhile, has a 14.5 percent lodging tax, County Attorney Melissa Lambert noted.
Fifty percent of the hotel tax collected from a hotel within a municipality – Aberdeen, Bel Air or Havre de Grace – will be paid to the municipality. The remaining balance of the revenue will go to the county and be dedicated to funding tourism.
Although Harford County Executive Barry Glassman's administration is still determining how revenue would be sorted and given out, the money would essentially be distributed through a competitive grant process, county spokesperson Cindy Mumby said.
A subcommittee of the Economic Development Advisory Board would review and process the applications, but the county executive would ultimately decide who gets the grant money, she said. Non-profit organizations involved in tourism related activities also could apply for such grants.
The Town of Bel Air would be allowed to apply for a marketing grant from the hotel tax revenue. Because the town contains no hotels or motels, Bel Air officials had expressed concern about how the tax revenue would be distributed.
Bel Air's five town commissioners discussed the hotel tax bill at length with town staff on Tuesday afternoon and agreed to seek further clarification about the revenue stream. Several of them noted the town annually hosts two of the county's biggest events, the Independence Day celebration and parade on July 4 and the Maryland BBQ Bash in August, both of which attract thousands of visitors from outside Harford and put some strain on town services.
Speaking to the county council at Tuesday night's hearing, Glassman addressed the revenue distribution issue.
"We want to make sure we spread this around geographically to make sure we assist all these groups," he said, adding that applies to Havre de Grace, which also has few hotels.
The bill would give "a great deal of relief to the city of Aberdeen," Glassman noted.
"I think this is a good time to do this bill," he said.
Councilman Mike Perrone worried about county hotels losing a competitive advantage, since Harford is the only county along I-95 without a tax.
Lambert said the 6 percent rate would still be lower than Baltimore County's, which is 8 percent.
Vincenti also clarified that each dollar spent on tourism today would be freed up to go back to the general budget, and those items will be funded by the lodging tax.
Lambert added the county would hopefully also get more revenue to put back into tourism coffers.
Several local and state tourism officials spoke at the meeting in support of the bill, including Harford Chamber of Commerce President Pam Klahr, Visit Harford! board President Patti Parker and Maryland Hotel & Lodging Association President David Reel.
Dion Guthrie, a Joppa resident and previous county councilman, said Edgewood has a large number of hotels and would like to see an amendment to figure out how to dedicate a stream of revenue from the tax specifically for the Edgewood area.
Bill Watson, speaking for the Havre de Grace Tourism Advisory Board, and Havre de Grace Mayor Wayne Dougherty both said they support the bill, as did Aberdeen Mayor Mike Bennett.
Meanwhile, Uyesh Bhatti, who owns four motels in Aberdeen, suggested considering a 4 percent tax instead of 6 percent, in line with Cecil County.
He said a 6 percent tax may have a big impact on his guests' ability to pay and the ramifications for his business.
John Mallamo, a Bel Air resident, said he is not concerned about the new tax but suggested funneling all the money to the tourism industry does not make sense.
"Harford County is more just a pit stop. People stop and get gas, they might get a bite, they might spend the night, and most of the hotel rooms are rented by business people, not tourists," he said. "You've got to kind of wonder, what are we doing with this tourism money?"
Dave Pridgeon, of Bel Air, a past critic of county spending, as is Mallamo, said the tax only came about because the Greater Baltimore Committee did a study that concluded it was needed.
Pridgeon called it "only a foot in the door to cost you more down the road."