BY KEITH BENMAN, Times of Northwest Indiana
kbenman@nwitimes.com
Lake County tourism chief Speros Batistatos is accusing bus boosters of making a "capricious attack" on his industry by seeking to secure a food-and-beverage tax to fund regional bus service
"We're taking the gloves off," Batistatos said last week. "We will be in the face of the RBA (Regional Bus Authority) toe-to-toe on this."
As CEO of the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Batistatos said it is his duty to go to bat for an industry that has created 25,000 jobs in Northwest Indiana in the past 15 years.
At stake is a 1 percent food-and-beverage tax which could raise up to $7.6 million in Lake County and up to $1.7 million in Porter County, according to RBA estimates.
The RBA wants the money to fund the extension of scheduled bus service to Lake County suburbs and a threefold increase in on-demand services in urban and rural areas.
RBA chairman Dennis Rittenmeyer disputes Batistatos' claims that the food-and-beverage tax is a tax on the restaurant industry. Rittenmeyer compares it to the sales tax, which is a tax on consumers, not on stores.
"The battle for funding right now is not in Indianapolis, it's in Crown Point," Rittenmeyer said.
The next step would be to go to the Porter County Council for approval of the tax.
That's because a food-and-beverage tax can be put in place only by the county councils.
However, under 2005 legislation, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority would be the recipient of those tax revenues. Any decision on who gets it would lie in the RDA's hands.
Batistatos points out the tax has been used in other parts of Indiana to fund tourism-related projects. One of those is the new $675 million Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts.
Batistatos has been studying the potential for a sports arena/convention center for Northwest Indiana. But he said last week he will not come forward with a proposal until all "due diligence" is done.
If anything, the RBA should seek a gasoline or income tax, and keep its hands off the food-and-beverage tax, Batistatos said.
The Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau will attack the RBA's quest for the food-and-beverage tax on all fronts, including challenging the $625,000 study and report on regional bus service recently delivered by TranSystems Corp.
That study is flawed for a number or reasons, Batistatos said, claiming that it never ascertains how many individuals actually use the buses.
Instead, he said the report gives the number of rides provided annually, which is a standard measurement used by transit systems in the United States.
© Copyright 2024, nwitimes.com, Munster, IN