The Board of County Commissioners will hold a Special Session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, for a presentation from the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) on the lodging tax item included in House Bill 49, the State of Ohio’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2018-19.
Under Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.09, commissioners could approve an additional 1% to Clermont County’s lodging tax, which is currently at 6%.
Three percent of the current tax goes to the county, which then passes it on to the CVB (CVBs in Ohio are funded through lodging taxes). The other 3% goes to the municipality or township where the hotel or motel is located.
If approved, the 1% would be used to fund the constructing, improving and maintaining of a professional sports facility in Clermont County, and paying expenses considered necessary by the county CVB to promote travel and tourism with respect to that sports facility.
If the CVB has not entered into a contract for such a facility by Jan. 1, 2019, the authority to levy the tax would be repealed.
The additional 1% tax has recently been a topic of discussion at BCC Sessions, township meetings and in news reports.
At this time, there are no prospective sports facility projects being considered by the commissioners.
The City of Milford, Batavia Township, Miami Township and Union Township are home to most of the county’s hotels and motels. All stakeholders are invited to attend the Session.
The Session will be held in the BCC Session Room, 101 E. Main St., Third Floor, Batavia.