We haven’t heard much from Sedona’s elected leaders since the Sedona Chamber of Commerce and Tourism announced plans to separate from the Sedona City Council, whose contract expires at the end of the June fiscal year.
Granted, it’s only been a few days, so the news is still being processed, but it goes without saying that members of the Sedona Business and Chamber of Commerce are going to help the Chamber promote Sedona and destination marketing. I am very excited about the new direction I want to take. .
Freed from the council, the Chamber of Commerce has transformed the types of tourists Sedona has welcomed since COVID-19, from Phoenix and Tucson day trippers to one-stop Phoenix and Tucson day trips. You could spend thousands of dollars on hotels, resorts, restaurants, spas, retailers, tour companies, and other businesses to get the vacation of your dreams that you’ve been planning for months. In other words, the kind of high-priced traveler the Chamber of Commerce always tried to attract before a series of city councils stifled its efforts.
The Arizona Bed Tax Fund is not just free cash, it should be used for the very specific purpose of promoting tourism.
ARS §9-500.06.D defines “tourism promotion” as follows:
- “Direct spending by a city or town to promote tourism, including but not limited to sporting events and cultural exhibits.”
- “Contract on tourism promotion by the specified non-profit corporation/association between the municipality and the specified non-profit corporation/association”
- “Expenditures incurred by cities and towns to develop, improve, and operate tourism-related attractions and facilities, or to assist in the planning and promotion of such attractions and facilities.”
Sedona had a bed tax prior to 1990, and funds from a portion of that tax can be used for police, roads, parks, and other city programs, but revenue from all increases since 1990 are should be spent on the promotion of According to state law.
There’s not much the city can spend its taxes on these beds. Sedona has no recreation centers, amusement parks, major cultural venues, or sports stadiums. Nearly all of Sedona’s iconic attractions, including Coffee Pot Rock, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, Devil’s Bridge, Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock Crossing, Courthouse Butte, Cockscomb, and Merry Go, are technically within the city limits of Sedona. It’s located outside, so it’s adjacent to a landmark. -Round, Schnebly Hill Road, Midgley Bridge, Capital Butte, Palatki, Honanki.
The city can start building tourism attraction facilities or expand the text of the law to build new roads to attract tourists. Perhaps if Oak Creek enters Oak Creek Canyon, the city could create an Uptown Bypass east if the road itself attracts tourists. Alternatively, the city could work with Coconino County and Coconino National Forest to pave Schnebly Hill Road and turn it into a scenic trail that attracts tourists, but given that destination marketing is prohibited. And no other tourism-related projects will start. for the city.
The city thus creates a surplus of unused cash, unused taxes, and the business community is frustrated that a recession is looming and the city council is not helping them. consists of retirees who own homes and seem financially stable amid a stagnating economy and skyrocketing inflation, but the tens of thousands of Sedona and Verde Valley residents who rely on tourism for rent. Workers are at the mercy of their councils. , in their own security, unaware or indifferent to their struggles.
For the past 10 years, hotels and resorts within the city limits of Sedona have paid a 0.5% lodging tax, with the understanding that the dollars the City of Sedona raises from these hotels will be spent on destination marketing. Over the past two years, the council has revoked that agreement, making the bed tax a penalty.
Hoteliers still charge customers to pay taxes that do not benefit them and these local hoteliers are located just outside the city limits and down the road from the village of Oak Creek. This puts them at a disadvantage compared to the hotels and resorts in the area.
When tourists try to book a room in Sedona, despite the city council’s attempts to turn them away, the bed tax drives Sedona prices significantly and artificially, causing them to stay in the village of Oak Creek instead. or opt for a suburban vacation rental. city. The city will lose him not only 0.5%, but the entire base bed tax of 3% — and yet the tourists will arrive. At the very least, the city should try to benefit its residents by collecting and using the taxes they agreed to, instead of hurting our businesses and driving our customers out of the city.
On Monday, April 10, the City of Sedona posted a new agenda for its special city council meeting on Wednesday, April 12, to discuss terminating contracts with the Chamber of Commerce and how bed tax funds will be used. We believe the Sedona City Attorney will advise the Sedona City Council to repeal her 0.5% tax. The city still collects a basic floor tax of 3%, and since this tax was levied prior to his 1990 when the current state law came into force, about half of it goes to the city’s general fund. It is It doesn’t make sense for local councils to continue to charge taxes they don’t use. Residents get nothing and workers suffer.
