Williamsburg council adopts higher lodging, meals and capped admissions taxes to fund capital projects

Williamsburg City Council voted Jan. 8 to adopt a package of tax changes intended to fund the city’s capital improvement plan, approving increased transient occupancy (lodging) and prepared foods taxes and adopting a capped admissions tax.

The council adopted proposed ordinance 25-02 to raise the transient occupancy tax and the prepared foods and beverage tax; staff said the meals tax rate was reduced from the originally advertised figure to 6.5% and the ordinance includes a 2% monthly deduction from the tax amount for retailers. Miss Shelton, who presented the ordinance, said these adjustments reflected council direction after previous public hearings.

Council members emphasized that the increase was selected instead of a larger property-tax hike that was considered during budget deliberations. Vice Mayor Dent said council had weighed options and “we're at a point where we approved a budget based on these revenues coming in.” Several council members expressed that the adjustments were the best available approach to meet city needs.

Council also considered proposed ordinance 25-03 on admissions taxes, creating classes and exempting school events and applying a tax only to the first $10 of an admission, effectively capping the charge at $1 for typical ticket prices. Supporters called the cap a way to limit burden on attendees.

Public comment at the meeting included concerns that higher taxes would be passed on to customers. Sabrina Fairbanks told the council she feared restaurants and small businesses would bear the burden and urged the city to review CIP expenditures before raising taxes, saying in part that she worried visitors would view new charges as “excessive.” Ron Kirkland, representing the Williamsburg Hotel Motel Association, praised the collaborative process and said the lodging industry supported the approach that avoided a property-tax increase for businesses.

The council moved and adopted ordinance 25-02 by roll call with recorded 'Aye' votes from Miss Williams, Miss Ramsey, Mayor Ponds, Vice Mayor Dent and Miss Kernsher. A motion to adopt ordinance 25-03 was made and seconded during the same session.

The ordinances take effect according to the schedules in the adopted code amendments; staff said the measures were included in the budget assumptions approved by council.