 The
article below
is more detailed
than the article
which appeared
in the print
edition.
November
2008
|
Henry
Abarbanel
It’s
3AM and the concierge of the Palace
Del Mar Hotel
rings up 755 1522
to hail the Del
mar Fire Department
to a fire in her
hotel. The room
occupant, a visitor
from Ohio for
a week in Del
Mar. is alerted
in time, and escapes
with his life
and possessions
from the room
on fire. The damage
is minor as the
Del Mar firefighters
arrive within
minutes, douse
the flames, and
their paramedic
colleagues attend
to the shock and
(fortunately)
minor suffering
of the visitors.
Another excellent
response by our
Del Mar Firefighters!
Potential
13 Percenters
at L'Auberge
Who
pays for the
crew of three
on duty that
morning? Who
pays for the
trucks and
their maintenance
and their fuel
consumption
and the supplies
required for
a successful
fire rescue?
Who pays for
the roadways
along which
the firefighters
travel, the
signals alerting
other traffic
to their presence,
and the street
lights allowing
safe passage
that morning?
Well,
you do.
Unless
the visitor
to
the hotel purchases
something in
our City, so
that
the sales tax
collected on
that occasion
is received
by the City,
visitors
to Del Mar
do
not participate
in paying for
the services
they receive,
as a matter
of course, when
they are here.
If they
swim at our
beaches
and, unfortunately,
require a rescue
by our lifeguards,
who pays for
it? Well, you
do. If they,
again
unfortunately,
fall ill while
here and are
treated and
transported
to a local
hospital
by our paramedics
in our ambulance,
who pays for
it? Well, you
do.
Cities
in California
have essentially
two ways to collect
revenues for
services rendered
to nonresidents—sales
tax and a fee
on their hotel
stays, if they
have one, called
TOT. Sales tax
is supervised
through State
law, while TOT,
the fees charged
for hotel stays,
are determined,
administered,
and utilized
by local municipalities
with approval
of their voters.
Del Mar has collected
some level of
TOT revenues
for decades,
and on occasion,
the
City Council
asks the voters
for authority
to raise that
TOT amount. If
approved by the
voters, the City
Council consults
with local hotels
and other businesses,
often through
discussions with
our Del Mar Village
Association (DMVA),
about what level
of room use fee
(TOT) would be
commensurate
with the regional
competition—for
us, in Carmel
Valley and Solana
Beach. Today
that TOT collection
stands at 10.5%
on each hotel
room bill, and
those funds
go directly to
the City general
fund to support
all of the services
I mentioned,
and many I did
not note.
On
you ballot this
year is a question
from the Del
Mar City Council:
should we have
the authority
to raise the
TOT to a maximum
of 13% on each
hotel room bill? If
this increase
is approved, visitors
to Del Mar will
join in the support
of costs for local
services—costs
presently borne
by you and me—the
residents.
Actually,
only some percentage
of the costs
of those services
to our visitors
will be covered
by an increase
in TOT. We will
still be paying
for our services
as well as part
of those rendered
to visitors.
Probably, we will
never collect
100% of those
visitor services.
Over
the past several
years, much
thought
and much action
has gone into
revitalizing
Del Mar’s
commercial district.
Residents and
businesses have
cooperated in
this, often though
the DMVA. As this
is more and more
successful, it
will naturally
result in additional
visitors to Del
Mar and increased
room occupancy
at our few, but
excellent, hotels.
TOT is on your
ballot as Proposition
H. This is your
opportunity to
pass the costs
for fire services,
law enforcement
services, etc,
etc rendered to
visitors on to
those visitors.
A YES on Proposition
H will reduce
the burden on
you, and, frankly,
is only fair.
Please vote YES
on H on November
4 (or earlier
if you have an
absentee ballot).
Henry
Abarbanel is
a member of the
Del Mar City
Council.
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