SNOW HILL – Worcester County is continuing efforts to seek enabling legislation that would allow for an increase in the room tax.
The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday voted unanimously to send a letter to other code counties seeking their support for legislation to increase the room tax cap. Legislation at the state level to increase the room tax cap is required before Ocean City can increase the rate from its current 5%.
“A little over a year ago we received a letter from Ocean City looking to raise the cap,” Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young said. “It requires legislation at the state level to do so.”
Last year, the commissioners, at the request of the Town of Ocean City, began working with the Eastern Shore Delegation to get enabling legislation from the Maryland General Assembly that would allow the county to raise its room tax threshold from 5% to 6%. Officials discovered, however, that the Maryland State Constitution required Worcester to obtain approval from the other code “home rule” counties on the Eastern Shore—Caroline, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties. According to the state’s website, code “home rule” empowers counties with broad legislative authority and limits the General Assembly’s local legislative powers.
“Given the time and effort necessary to coordinate support from these other code counties, we opted to wait until the following legislative session to pursue this effort,” Young wrote in a memo to the commissioners. “Recently, I have informally discussed this with my counterparts in the other Eastern Shore code counties, who understand that enabling legislation is not a mandate to raise the room tax 1% beyond the current cap, and they have not voiced any concerns from their commissioners.”
OC is their cash cow.
OC requests the raise because they can manage themselves out of a corner. Empty rooms during the summer weeks is ZERO rates of return. Zero, nada, zilch. So much $$$$$$ spent on advertising and still empty rooms. Empty rooms means less folks eating out….less receipts..
Figure out the problem first rather than upping rates in HOPES to make the lost revenue. Lost revenue is bad projecting. Yet those that project still habe their very healthy paying government positions.
Lost revenue is simply that LOST. Never ever to be found or made up.
But keep chasin after that, keep making sure you have fireworks on New Years Eve and keep promoting adding dual bridges to route 90. By the time those are finished, there wont be anyone come here. Bwahahahahaha
when in doubt. raise prices. should work out well