The Borough Council also voted to accept a $5,000 grant that would create a visitors center at the Prallsville Mills complex.
By: Linda Seida
STOCKTON Officials agreed Monday to pursue several routes to bring more money into the borough, a move that represents a 180-degree turnaround from their position in recent weeks.
Members of the Borough Council voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance authorizing a 1 percent hotel and motel occupancy tax and to accept a $5,000 grant for the establishment of a visitors center.
The obvious discord that marked recent council meetings was absent Monday. Previously, a marked division existed between those who favored accepting the grant and enacting the tax and those who opposed both. No one commented on why the turnaround occurred. Instead, council members moved smoothly and amicably through items on the agenda even when expressing disparate viewpoints.
The occupancy tax, which the council could vote on later this month, would bring as much as $12,000 annually into the town’s coffers, according to Mayor Gregg Rackin. That’s the optimistic estimate; the low-end estimate would be closer to $5,000 or $6,000, he said.
If the borough levies the tax, council members said they are in favor of meeting with the proprietors of Stockton’s three inns to discuss how the revenue should best be spent on improvements to the borough.
"I like the idea of a partnership," said Councilwoman Constance Bassett. "It is, in a sense, an opportunity for input and dialogue. I like that. I think it’s fair to the bed-and-breakfasts. Undoubtedly their insight is something we don’t have."
"This is a perfect situation where they can see their tax dollars working for them," said Councilman Neal Esposito.
"This is not a shakedown," Mayor Gregg Rackin said. "I think this is the start of a new opportunity."
The local tax would be levied in addition to a 7 percent occupancy tax recently enacted by the state for a combined occupancy tax of 8 percent. According to the law, municipalities have the option of increasing their share to 3 percent in July 2004, when the state’s share will drop to 5 percent.
The occupancy tax is on top of the state’s 6 percent sales tax.
Some members of the council initially had misgivings about further burdening local businesses, especially in light of the slump currently faced by the tourism industry.
Local innkeepers, however, including the owners of the Stockton Inn on Route 29 and the Steppingstone Bed and Breakfast on South Main Street, have said they would have no problem with the new municipal tax if the borough’s share were earmarked for improvements that would ultimately benefit their businesses. Such improvements could include cleaner streets and possibly even a tennis court, as the mayor has suggested.
Matthew Lovette and Mark Smith, co-owners of the Wolverton Inn on Wolverton Road, attended Monday’s council meeting and said they, too, would not have a problem with the new tax.
"Honestly, I don’t think we’ll lose a ‘feelable’ amount of business," Mr. Smith said. Referring to the combination of the 6 percent sales tax and a 7 or 8 percent occupancy tax, he added, "When you hit them with a 14 percent tax, it’s noticeable. From 13 to 14 percent, I don’t think it’s going to be a big difference."
"I’m happy to have this 1 percent go to the town," Mr. Lovette said. "That’s why it doesn’t hurt us so much."
"It’s not about ‘You guys have it, and we want some,’" Mayor Rackin said of the local inns. "It’s about pooling resources that have become available, that were not before, collectively to improve our town."
He added, "I think this is a positive thing for Stockton."
The town is in a "unique situation" because of its lack of funds, he said.
"We can’t do anything," the mayor said. "We can’t even apply for matching grants because we don’t have the resources. We don’t even have the money available to go after matching grants."
Which is why the $5,000 grant for a visitors center should have been welcome from the start, he added. It required no matching funds from the borough.
But it took some wrangling over the past weeks for the mayor and the council to see eye to eye on the benefit of a visitors center. Council President Andrew Giannattasio was put out by the fact the mayor had applied for the grant without first consulting council members. He felt a visitors center could distract the town from its more pressing needs, such as sewer and road repairs.
The grant, from the Delaware River Greenway Partnership, will be used to establish a visitors center within the Prallsville Mills complex on Route 29. The center will be housed in a building known as the Salt and Pork House, which first needs to be rehabilitated.
Edie Sharpe, director of the Delaware River Mill Society, said the work would consist of moving an entryway door from a side of the structure that faces Route 29 to a side where it was originally located, which faces a parking lot. The change will make the building safer as well as historically accurate, she told council members last month.