This article is brought to you by Silver Birch Living of Kokomo. An independent life with a supportive hand. A different kind of affordable assisted living community. Silver Birch of Kokomo offers a full spectrum of personalized services to help older adults maintain their independence in a supportive, caring environment. For more information, visit Silver Birch of Kokomo online.
If the City of Kokomo and Mayor Tyler Moore get their way, the cost of eating out will get slightly more expensive. The Moore administration recently attempted unsuccessfully to get the Indiana Legislature to consider a food and beverage tax for the community.
The attempt was turned away before it really got started, as the city had completed virtually none of the requisite preparations to implement a new tax, but Moore said the city likely will try again.
“We had considered it because of the challenges we face with filling gaps with the hotel and conference center, as well as the proposed housing developments,” said Moore. “We had caught wind through one of the legislative updates that there was a bill proposed for two other communities in the state for a food and beverage tax.
“I thought, ‘Okay, is there a possibility to look into getting added to that one?’ With the timing and the short (legislative) session, it's not. We needed to have conversations with other interested parties involved. We had to work in either a public hearing or public meeting. The timing didn't work out.”
Moore looked at the denial as a blessing, rather than a setback. The city didn’t have enough information gathered on economic impact generated from myriad sources, such as Championship Park and the StarPlus battery plant construction. The legislature wants to see statistics on hotel usage and restaurant patronage.
“Instead of hurrying into something, we pulled back on the reins,” said Moore. “We’re going to get the updated economic impact numbers from Bullpen, from Championship Parks. We only had the 2022 numbers. We probably needed 2023. So, yes, it was something that we had considered looking into, but we're pulling back and doing a little more research.”
The tax, if enacted, would add one percent to the cost of food and beverages served in restaurants and bars in Kokomo. The cities of Hammond and Union City are among those currently being considered by the Indiana legislature for the tax. And according to Moore, there are 32 communities across the state that already have the food and beverage tax.
But the legislature wants to know where the money will be used, Moore said. The city didn’t have a clear plan for the funding, but Moore knows where he would like to invest the new tax dollars.
“It would be tied to consumer usage and tourism, put towards either CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) initiatives, parks, or additional amenities for tourism,” said Moore. “If we needed additional improvements to Championship Park, if we wanted to look at pickleball facilities along the trail, if we needed to help fill the gap with the convention center, it would be tied to those things.”
Moore acknowledged that the city already has an innkeepers tax through the CVB, which was increased a decade ago to cover costs with the downtown hotel and convention center, which is still in the works with yet another developer. And with the advent of several new hotels in the planning for Kokomo, the mayor knows there will be a new influx of tax revenue ahead for the city.
“But it’s something to consider,” said Moore. “It’s just a penny on the dollar.”