Springfield City Council held a public hearing last night on a pair of bills that would determine the recipient of hotel-motel tax dollars formerly allocated to the Wonders of Wildlife museum.
Late last year, WOW terminated its agreement with the city to receive 20 percent of the increase in hotel-motel tax revenues – minus a 6 percent administrative fee – so the funds could go toward other city priorities.
During the last four years, according to Springfield Economic Development Director Mary Lilly Smith, the tax generated an average of nearly $330,000 per year for WOW.
One bill would reallocate 100 percent of the tax revenues to pay a debt shortfall on Jordan Valley Park and Mediacom Ice Park.
The other bill would direct 40 percent of tax revenues to the city’s debt subsidy on the downtown parks, with the other 60 percent available for nonprofits to use on projects designed to attract tourists to the city.
Both plans would give the city-owned Springfield Expo Center all the money accrued since WOW stopped accepting the tax funding — about $328,000 – to be used for improvements.
Three speakers addressed council, with two nonprofit representatives calling for the shared funding plan, and one member of the Citizens Sales Tax Oversight Committee recommending the revenues be used to free up general revenue funds.
In 1998, Springfield voters approved an increase in the hotel-motel tax for purposes that included making capital grants available for community nonprofits. A year later, the city entered into an agreement with the museum - the vision of Bass Pro Shops founder and conservationist Johnny Morris - that directed a portion of that increase to WOW operations. When Morris asked to terminate the agreement, council approved a special ordinance that authorized the WOW tax funds to be reallocated to entities that would have qualified to receive the tax revenues under the 1998 ballot language.
Among them is Discovery Center of Springfield Executive Director Emily Fox, who said the children's educational center – which currently does not receive city funding – would use revenues for projects to attract tourists. She said 48 percent of the Discovery Center's visitors this year have come from at least 60 miles away.
“Whenever I speak with peers from around the country, they are always astounded that we don’t receive support,” Fox said.
Springfield Regional Arts Council Director Leah Hamilton said council has a unique opportunity to support arts organizations that routinely drive people into the city.
“You have a chance to balance fiscal responsibility with a wise investment,” Hamilton said.
According to the bill that would divide revenues, funds would be allocated to select nonprofits focused on drawing tourism to the area as part of a competitive process. A Hotel-Motel Tax Reallocation Committee would be established, if the bill is passed, with the charge of evaluating grant proposals and making recommendations to council.
Brian Perdue, a member of Springfield’s Citizens Sales Tax Oversight Committee, spoke in favor of the proposal to reduce the city’s $16 million obligation connected to Jordan Valley Park and Mediacom Ice Park.
“This would be the prudent thing to do,” Perdue said, adding that arts organizations should derive their revenue from donors or visitors.
According to Smith, based on an assumed 5 percent increase in hotel-motel tax revenues, the city’s subsidy on debt service for the downtown facilities would be reduced to $6.7 million through 2028 if the plan excluding the nonprofits is approved. Should the local organizations receive a 60 percent cut of the former WOW revenues, the city would still need to subsidize debt payments to the tune of $12.2 million during the next 16 years, she said.
