Committee vote was 3-2 to petition state to charge the fee
By:David Koch
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP The Township Committee passed a resolution last week to petition the state Legislature and acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco to allow the township and other New Jersey municipalities to charge a hotel/motel room occupancy fee, which could establish a hefty revenue for the township coffers, said officials.
The resolution passed by a vote of 3-2 at a special committee meeting on Oct. 22. Committeewomen Pauline Angelo and Carol de Groot voted against the resolution.
If established, the fee would be a tax added onto the bill of hotel patrons. Officials said the fee would help to cover the cost of providing services to hotel guests, such as police and roads.
Currently, there are only a few communities in New Jersey, such as Cape May and Atlantic City, that have a hotel/motel room occupancy fee.
"It’s usually just resort communities that have these things," said Mr. Mason. "Certainly they (the township) provide a lot of municipal services to the visitor, but there is no direct contribution by the visitor to offset the cost and this would be a way to provide it."
Bordentown Township has about eight hotels and motels with more than 500 rooms, said officials.
A new Hampton Inn is under construction on Route 206 which will add 72 more rooms to the township when completed next spring, said Mr. Mason.
The Planning Board last year also approved a request by Holiday Inn to build two new hotel towers on Route 206 near the New Jersey Turnpike, which would add 216 more rooms, said Mr. Mason.
"Once the new motel rooms are built, there will be 1,000 rooms in our township," said Mr. Mason.
"(The fee) is a way for us to generate a sufficient amount of revenue without our residents having to cover the cost, but be able to reap the benefits," said Deputy Mayor Mark Roselli on Oct. 15. "It seems like a lot of the last major incidents involving the police have occurred at the motels."
One recent incident on Sept. 26 involved the stabbing of a man from Mississippi by an out-of-state contractor, both of whom were staying at a hotel in Bordentown Township.
Mr. Roselli said the next step would be to forward a copy of the resolution to Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-30th, and Sen. Robert Singer for their support.
In addition, Committeemen Roselli, William Nine, and George Chidley will present the occupancy fee proposal to the Resolution Committee of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, which will meet in November, in order to gain support from other New Jersey municipalities.
"I’ve been told by an official that this is an issue that will garner support," said Mr. Roselli.
If passed by the Legislature, the occupancy fee could be extended to other townships and even possibly the entire state.
However, Committeewoman de Groot said she couldn’t vote in favor of the resolution because she hadn’t had enough time to review the resolution, and that there was not enough discussion.
"The people who use our hotels, they also eat in our restaurants, use our gas, and buy other things in our township," said Ms. de Groot. "I don’t think that’s the way to go for revenue."
Ms. de Groot also said it would discourage visitors from staying in Bordentown Township.
"Why would I go to Bordentown Township and pay more money when I can go anywhere on Route 130 and get another motel?" said Ms. de Groot.
Mr. Roselli said, however, that the occupancy fee would not affect hotel business in the township.
"You go to other places and you incur these figures, people don’t even look at it," said Mr. Roselli.
Mr. Roselli also said the amount of the hotel/motel room occupancy fee had yet to be determined.