The Monroe County Council narrowly voted Wednesday to adopt a 1 percent food and beverage tax to help pay for the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center — a project some members of the community have been trying to get done for decades.
County council members voted 4-3 on the countywide tax that would apply to food or beverages sold at restaurants, prepared food items from grocery stores and food truck sales. Voting in favor of the tax were county council members Geoff McKim, Shelli Yoder, Cheryl Munson and Ryan Cobine. Those who voted against were Marty Hawk, Lee Jones and Eric Spoonmore.
The food and beverage tax is being proposed to help finance the expansion of the Monroe Convention Center. Expanding the convention center in downtown Bloomington and building a nearby Embassy Suites Hotel is projected to cost $72 million, according to estimates. Around $37 million of the project’s cost — the cost of the hotel — is expected to be covered by a developer.
The tax is expected to go into effect starting Feb. 1. A food and beverage tax is expected to raise between $2.5 million to $3 million annually.
Council members voting in favor of the tax said a food and beverage tax is the appropriate funding mechanism to support a needed convention center expansion project.
McKim said he supports the expansion of a convention center, but more importantly, keeping that expansion in the hands of the community. He said this allows the community to play a substantial role in the design of the convention center.
Additionally, he said of the tools available in the county's toolbox to pay for such a project, a food and beverage tax is a much more stable source of revenue, being least susceptible to economic downturns