FLEMINGSBURG — An ordinance recently introduced to Flemingsburg City Council intends to impose a tourism sales tax on restaurants, hotels and B and Bs in the city.
Flemingsburg Mayor Bobby Money said that, after its second reading, the ordinance will establish a 3 percent sales tax on meals served in restaurants, including to-go meals.
“The reason why we’re doing this is because we have parks that are in dire need of repairs and renovations,” he said, “and we can no longer afford to do that.”
All of the funds generated from the tax will go toward a tourism fund, which will help finance the Fleming County Chamber of Commerce Tourism, a park on Fox Spring Avenue, the city park near the mayor’s office and the Flemingsburg-Fleming County Recreation Park.
According to Money, he estimates that around $200,000 or more annually can be generated from this tax.
If the ordinance is passed, the city council will not be in charge of the money, nor will it be included in the city’s budget, Money said. A committee of seven people will be appointed, who will determine where the money should go and then tell the council how to spend the money.
“This commission will tell us who to write checks to,” Money said. “None of the money will go to the city.”
Money believes this tax is necessary, if the local park areas are to receive any proper maintenance so that they can continue providing recreation for citizens.
“We have to do something for our kids,” he said. “We’ve got that recreation park out there, I’ve got a bid on replacing the lights on the ball fields and that’s $500,000. We just can’t do it — the city can’t do it and the county can’t do it.”
Hammering out all of the details regarding the sales tax and forming the committee will take some time, Money said, and will more than likely be the middle of next year before anything concrete will be determined.
