The Norman Transcript

Editorials

Discussion

January 5, 2013

Hotel night room taxespopular among voters

The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Taxes on hotel and motel rooms have become popular among voters around the country. The folks that pay the taxes aren’t usually the same ones that vote for them.

It’s a way to fund tourism, parks, the arts and other interests without adding on more sales or property taxes for the local residents. Norman’s 4 percent rate is added onto the regular sales tax. Proponents want to raise that to five percent.

In Norman, half of the tax goes to the Norman Convention and Tourism Bureau, the arts receives 25 percent and the city’s parks department gets the remaining 25 percent.

Council members will receive a proposed ordinance raising the tax rate at their meeting Tuesday. It’ll be up for a second reading and public discussion on Jan. 22.

Voters would ultimately decide the tax fate. Council members want the increased revenue from out-of-town guests but they also don’t want to knock the city out of the competition for conventions, sports tournaments and other items.

If the council approves the increase, it will go to the voters, possibly on the same ballot as the mayor and council primary, April 2. If it goes to the voters, there’s a good chance it will pass. Few cities have turned them down.

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Editorials
  • A short drought reprieve

    Oklahoma’s current respite from the drought may be short-lived. We’ve yet to reach 100-degree days where water use hits the peak and Norman turns the valve to buy water from Oklahoma City....

    June 18, 2013

  • Summertime warnings

    State and local health departments are sending out summer activity warnings. In recent weeks, we’ve received rabies, mosquito and teen driver warnings....

    June 18, 2013

  • Norman by the numbers

    Quick. What’s Norman’s current population? As of this week, city officials set the mark at 114,450. It seems like only months ago, we were passing 100,000 residents, including University of Oklahoma students....

    June 14, 2013

  • Court’s ruling ensures state has water access

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday, denying Texas access to Oklahoma water flowing within our state will help ensure the state’s water supply for generations to come....

    June 14, 2013

  • Live, die by sales tax

    Norman’s on-again, off-again love affair with the municipal sales tax has taken a hiatus. The numbers are up only slightly and less than what was projected in the city’s fiscal budget....

    June 13, 2013

  • A needed extension

    Gov. Mary Fallin took another walking tour of damaged Moore neighborhoods Wednesday. It comes as the governor requested and was approved for an extension of the federal major disaster declaration....

    June 13, 2013

  • Heat arrived suddenly

    The heat, which had stayed away from Oklahoma for most of May, has caught us by surprise this week....

    June 12, 2013

  • Meth addicts getting notice about law

    Oklahoma was one of the leaders in limiting sales of over-the-counter medicine containing pseudoephedrine. Meth cooks learned long ago that they could manufacture methamphetamine with cold pills and a few other ingredients....

    June 12, 2013

  • NSA spy case begs review

    The disclosure of widespread surveillance of Americans’ phone records and of Internet data on foreigners and some Americans has created strange bedfellows among critics and defenders....

    June 12, 2013

  • Storm chasers, safety

    The death of four storm chasers in Oklahoma last month has raised new questions about the practice that became popular with the movie “Twister.” Three scientists and one amateur tornado chaser died in the tornado that came through El Reno ...

    June 11, 2013