Fayetteville’s hotel, motel and restaurant (HMR) tax receipts saw another record-high month this year compared to the same months in past years.
A&P receipts reported in August were $202,624, a 6.7 percent increase over the same month last year.
Overall 2012 collections are at $1,646,485 which is a 10.9 percent increase on the year.
Below is a graph showing 2012 vs. 2011 numbers and a table representing HMR tax collections for the past five years in Fayetteville.
Note: The figures discussed in this post reflect the A&P Commission’s half of the 2 percent tax on hotel and motel stays and food purchases in restaurants. The August report represents July sales.
A&P Funds
Legislation created the Advertising and Promotion Commission in 1977 with the passage of the Hotel, Motel, Restaurant (HMR) tax in Fayetteville. The 2 percent tax is split equally between the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and the A&P Commission. The parks money is used for parks maintenance, operations and for capital improvements. The self-reported numbers do not include retail or liquor sales.
» See recent collection totals
By state legislation, all HMR funds shall be used:
1. for advertising and promoting the city and its environs
2. for the construction, reconstruction, equipment, improvement, maintenance, repair, and operation of a convention center
3. for the operation of tourist promotion facilities in the city
4. for personnel and agencies necessary to conduct the business of the A & P commission
HMR funds can also be used for:
1. for funding the arts
2. for operation of tourist-oriented facilities
3. for construction, reconstruction, repair, maintenance, improvement, equipping and operation of public recreation facilities and for the payment of bonds.
Taxes shall not be used for:
1. general capital improvements within the city
2. costs associated with general operation of the city
3. general subsidy of any civic group or chamber of commerce
Source: Arkansas Code / § 26-75-606 – Use of funds collected
And this is without a downtown hotel open
Good point. I forgot about that. Wish I had the time to look further into this to see what area(s) are bringing in the money.
Yes. Would be curious to see the Dickson street area numbers.
Looking at this data, it makes me wonder if the city factored in inflation. Also over the past year the cost of goods for these businesses has drastically risen. So yes the city might be pulling in more money, but the question is, is the businesses doing any better? Look at Hog Haus for example. Their prices keep climbing to keep up with cost of goods, but the amount charged in taxes are still the same percentage, but out of a larger price yielding a larger collection in taxes. I would much rather see the profit margins that the businesses are making to see if they are doing better than what the city is collecting from them. Just a thought. You only ever really hear one side of the story, it would be nice to hear what others have to say.
These figures must be fake. Fayetteville has stagnated since Dan Coody left office.
hog haus’ food is severely overpriced for the quality served.
beer is fine though!
You are correct Tom. Cost of goods are out of control and the price increases are passed on. Businesses are Definetely not doing better. Especially restaurants. Thanks for pointing this out.
“Businesses are Definetely not doing better. Especially restaurants.”
Based on what information?
Just walk up and ask a business owner. They have had a hit with the paid parking, and have tried expressing it to the city, but the city pulls out these numbers every time stating that the businesses are doing fine. When in fact they are not. If you look what these businesses are pulling in compared to what they use to pull in, there is definitely a drop in revenue. They are playing on the general public’s lack of knowledge of statistics to help the city look good.
That is unconvincing and invalid. I WANT to know the truth, but vague statistics, anecdotes, and hearsay don’t provide any truth.
Just walk up and ask a business owner. They are not doing as well.
I don’t trust business owners any more than I trust the government.
Our business has increased over the last five years. Considerably.
Present company excluded. ;-)
Nothing against this industry’s business owners, but they are usually not going to tell just someone that asks them that they are doing head over feet better. The ‘farmers’ approach is usually taken, and sandbagged (in a good way) in hopes to bring more money to them in the future.
Tom and Hog Fan, food prices have gone up since Jordan has been mayor. If you miss the old days and want lower prices and free parking, vote Coody.
So the cost of goods going up is due to many factors all of which do not involve local government other than the taxes charged upon them. Factors such as fuel cost and droughts inhibit the producers of these products to offer the product at normal rate forcing to raise the price of their goods to a price that can help sustain their business.
Voting for Dan Coody would be like remarrying your ex wife you so badly wanted to divorce. Not a good idea. All the bad memories come flooding back.
Thanks for reminding me of something I wanted to post. I saw Jordan on a Salvation Army commercial. “The donations stays in Fayetteville.” I just can’t stand having someone who doesn’t even use proper grammar representing our city to the world. He sounds uneducated, and his leadership is mediocre at best. Coody has good ideas and the ability to get things done.
How can you tell, just by listening, when one word ends in “s” and the next one starts with “s”, whether there are 2 “s”s or just one?? Is there a difference you can hear between “donations stays” and “donation stays”? You must have a finely tuned ear.
Watch for the commercial. Or watch that video the city had done with that old washed up football player. Eesh….
very nice Martine, I was wondering the same thing…
You write the way you speak. Boy will i be glad when this election is over so you can go back into your zero house with your zero ideas.
Are you the person with the different names who claims I am Dan Coody? I’m nowhere near as eloquent or smart as Dan.
Are you Don Marr?
Hahaha, Dan Coody is probably “Dan Coody”
@Nacho, in good conversation, his campaign often does precisely that.
@Glutenfree good call.
You’re behind the times– Mr. Coody’s campaign tried the “Lioneld Jordan talks like a hick” gambit in 2008. Or have they resurrected the old game plan?
I must have missed that. I just notice it whenever he speaks. It grates on me. Sorry for partying.
I am so happy and proud that Mayor Jordan has chosen to run a respectful and clean campaign. Jordan runs on his record and does not have to resort to name calling and dirty politics. He expects people who support him to do the same as well.
Record ????? Back in parking and hurry up parking decks? “Bump outs ” in streets without an opine from the City Attorney across the hall? Town and Gown? Bonding with Fort Smith? We got a new Goodwill and paid parking!
LOL @ clean campaign. Obviously you didn’t live in Fayetteville four years ago. The Marr/Jordan outfit specialized in obfuscation an exaggeration. That was one of the most hate-filled campaigns I have ever witnessed. I can’t think of anything in particular they have done to improve this city the past four years. They’ve coasted on the improvements and initiatives started in the past, watched as the WAC decided to move north, gouged the citizens for an expensive parking program and hurriedly made plans for a parking deck that few seem to want.
glutenfree–
RE “The Marr/Jordan outfit specialized in obfuscation an exaggeration.”
Please provide examples.
RE ” I can’t think of anything in particular they have done to improve this city the past four years.”
You might not like Block Street, but the merchants and a lot of other people do. Your imagination might be taxed, but a bunch of national magazines keep coming up with suggestions for living here.
RE “They’ve coasted on the improvements…”
Remember the recession that became apparent at about the time Mr. Jordan was elected? Remember how he was able to respond to it by trimming the budget without losing essential services (like street improvements and recycling) and nonessential services (like trail improvements), or numerous city employees? Remember the big ice storm in 2009 and the big snow in 2011?
RE “…and initiatives started in the past”
Are you saying that Mssrs. Vorsanger, Hanna and Coody didn’t initiate anything worth keeping? Should we build more infrastructure that we don’t need, just so Mr. Jordan can “do something”?
RE “…watched as the WAC decided to move north…”
You forget that the City of Fayetteville made the most comprehensive, well-developed and workable proposal in the WAC “competition”. If you could have kept the WAC from “moving north” (it isn’t), then you should run for mayor.
RE “…gouged the citizens for an expensive parking program…”
I only pay when I park. That’s not gouging. It’s generally a good idea to have a revenue stream in place when one plans to address needs; it’s good for the bond rating.
RE “…and hurriedly made plans for a parking deck that few seem to want…”
Didn’t Mr. Coody make plans for a parking garage? He’s still saying we need one.
Please provide examples of people who like Block Avenue…
If you want to talk about Block Street as a general downtown improvement project, actually the improvements around the square and the continuation of the improvements that were done to Dickson were all Coody-era projects. That is the classic definition of “coasting” on the work of others.
An improved Block Street, just like the improvements to Mountain and Center, were all conceived and planned by the Coody administration. The back-in parking, which is the primary issue most people take with the Block Ave plan, came under this administration.
IIRC, the parking garage discussions were in their infancy at the time of the last campaign. Coody had a similar vision to what he has proposed recently, that is a private/public project that would result in much more than just a parking garage. Retail space, restaurants space, new public space. Also, IIRC, Jordan stated that he was opposed to pay-parking in the Dickson area. Didn’t take long for that to be changed.
I am not a part of any “campaign”. I am a person who pays attention to what is happening in this city, and so I have well-formed opinions of past and present leadership. I happen to see that present leadership is not nearly as intelligent or thoughtful as past leadership.
Here’s an example:
July 27th 2011 Flyer article: “City negotiating lease for Dickson Hotel”. Mayor Jordan announces that he has a plan to lease the parking lot next to WAC to a hotel developer. Many people on here point out the price of the lease itself seemed to be a poorly thought out business decisions, because it simply factored in parking revenue loss at current rates.
September 22, 2011: Mayor Jordan was quoted in a Flyer article as saying “I don’t propose we put anything in that (the WAC lot) lot.”
So in less than one month, we go from having a hotel on Dickson deal to the point that Jordan announces it. It simply drifts away into the rabbit hole as if it never happened. Then it is said that we are opposed to putting anything on that lot. Which is it? What is the plan? Is there a plan? The answer is NO. We’re drifting along.
I see stuff like this and its maddening. Its like our city is being directed by clueless, naive hillbillies.
RE “actually the improvements around the square and the continuation of the improvements that were done to Dickson were all Coody-era projects….An improved Block Street, just like the improvements to Mountain and Center, were all conceived and planned by the Coody administration.”
But wait– Mr. Coody just continued the street and square improvements initiated by other mayors. It’s okay for Mr. Coody to continue projects, but not for Mr. Jordan? Oh, wait– didn’t Mr. Coody put the plan for speed tables into motion?
RE parking garage
You said that nobody wants a parking garage. At that point, it doesn’t matter how it’s tarted up. Apparently it’s okay for Mr. Coody to support a parking garage that nobody wants, but not for Mr. Jordan. (By the way– current parking garage plans include retail space.)
RE Hotel in WAC parking lot
I don’t disagree with your assessment that this was “maddening”; however, you said that “the Marr/Jordan outfit” did not run a clean campaign. I asked for examples.
You seem to think that all was rosy during Mr. Coody’s incumbency, and indeed he was fortunate enough to serve during a good economy. Yet five (!) people were provoked to run against Mr. Coody, 63% of voters voted against him in the election, and 57% voted against him in the runoff. That’s a lot of angst, especially when you consider Mr. Jordan’s high retention of the opposition vote.
It’s nice that you are so sophisticated that you can consider the Mayor, the City Council, the City Attorney, and, presumably, the heads of various city departments, “clueless, naive hillbillies”. Again, perhaps you should run for mayor. You can remake Fayeteeville into a glistening Manhattan, and get the Walton Arts Center back while you’re at it.
Now you’re just making stuff up David Franks.
Was there a plan to improve the square and Dickson and College Avenue prior to the Coody era?
I believe the answer is no. There was no real plan. The basic framework and plans that have come to fruition over the past several years, including the College Avenue sidewalk and tree plan, as well as rebuilding the square gardens and adding trees and lighting around the Square came out of the Coody administration. Plans like that come from an administration with a vision for how the city can improve.
That is a fact. Block Avenue was slated for a rebuild, and many Jordan supporters even panned it as “a Coody-era plan” when it was being discussed. The back-in parking came up in this administration, but there wasn’t enough flexibility or common sense to make that go away.
Where have you seen that the current parking garage plans include retail space? That was originally discussed, but more recently, those plans have been changed IIRC. There are no mixed-use garage proposals currently from this administration. Link me to one. I would like to see it. But as I understand it, they are discussing a garage-only at this time.
As for the last campaign, Coody was smeared in blogs, called arrogant, called a *gasp* “Texan” over and over again. As for “running a clean campaign” show me where Dan Coody hasn’t? I’m not Dan Coody.
You are defending the POV of a few posters on here who are operating under the assumption that I am Dan Coody. I am not Dan Coody, nor am I affiliated with his administration or his campaign. Nothing I have posted is any worse than what Jordan/Marr supporters slung around (and are still slinging) about Mayor Coody.
I have actually met Matt Petty, but I don’t know him personally. We had a chance meeting drinking beers and discussing politics. Totally random.
I am quite certain that you are not Dan Coody, and I have never suggested that you are or might be Dan Coody. I can’t even imagine why you would think that I believe that. And your support, or lack of it, for Mr. Coody is irrelevant to the inconsistencies in your arguments.
Above, you credited Mr. Coody with continuing the work of others, and lambasted Mr. Jordan for doing the same thing. You credited Mr. Coody with supporting a parking garage (which nobody wants) and lambasted Mr. Jordan for supporting a parking garage that NOBODY WANTS.
You blamed Mr. Jordan for losing the WAC to the frigid north, ignoring the fact that the city made a magnificent presentation, and the fact that mayor had no control over the ultimate decision (which had already been made anyway– how about some credit for a heroic effort in a noble but lost cause?). You have not acknowledged or refuted the fact that Mr. Jordan has done a fine job of seeing the city through the worst recession since the Great Depression– or the fact that Mr. Coody was in office during good economic times, when it is easier for a city to plan and get things done (and when he had plenty of opportunity and money to play catch-up with major infrastructure needs). You have not acknowledged or refuted the fact that a lot of people wanted Mr. Coody out of office, to the extent that not quite half of them ran for mayor against him, and Mr. Jordan won the runoff handily. Where is that widespread, committed opposition now?
RE “Nothing I have posted is any worse than what Jordan/Marr supporters slung around (and are still slinging) about Mayor Coody.”
The certitude with which you keep saying this indicates that you have examples at hand, so I see no reason why you should not be able to give specific examples. What were the dirty tricks pulled by Mr. Jordan’s campaign? What has Mr. Jordan, his administration, or his campaign ever said that sinks to the level of a personal attack like calling Mr. Jordan a hick, going on about the way he talks like a hick, and claiming that he gives the city a “hick” image? (I’ll believe that when Forbes or Business Week lists Fayetteville in the top ten hick towns.)
Your contention that Mr. Jordan ran a dirty campaign (and your subsequent complaints about Mr. Jordan) led to our entire exchange. What were the dirty tricks you keep alluding to? What are those awful things being said about Mr. Coody?
Do you want me to link you to articles or statements?
Again, please provide a link to this “mixed use” parking structure the city is pursuing.
If you can’t even acknowledge the various capital improvement projects, trail system, transportation improvements, aesthetic improvements and overall quality of life improvements that were spearheaded during the Coody era, then I can’t even have this discussion with you. I contend that lots of “new” ideas and progressive policies were instituted in this town under Dan’s leadership. We are all enjoying those policies and improvements today. I can’t say I am confident the city still has a coherent and visionary leadership.
My “dirty campaign” allegations were in response to another poster alleging that somehow Dan was waging a dirty campaign this time around. Plenty of mud was slung the last time around. You are very selective to which points you will respond to of mine, so I’ll exercise that same privilege. Why did you not ask the original poster who alleged that Dan Coody is not running a clean campaign to explain his/herself?
My belief is that a lot of old time Fayetteville residents refuse to acknowledge that Fayetteville is no longer the tiny Ozark college town they moved to way back when. We are beyond that. There’s no going back. I am not going to say that those days were not better, but rather prefer a realistic approach to where we are now and what Fayetteville can become with visionary leadership. I don’t believe we have that leadership now.
We will not revert to being a larger version of Eureka Springs, no matter how much anybody here wishes it to be. That doesn’t mean we are “turning into Austin” by any stretch, as I heard many old timers express back during the last campaign. (not that turning into Austin would be a bad thing, IMO, as long as it was Austin sometime before the mid 1990s).
The choice to me is very clear, but then again, I want Fayetteville to move forward, improve, and grow in a progressive manner. Coody eloquently states his objectives and goals for improving Fayetteville. That gives me hope that this city is the place that I believe it is.
It is inappropriate and totally disingenuous to refer to Mr. Coody and “Mayor” Coody. We only have one Mayor, that is Mr. Jordan. Mayors don’t get to keep their elected titles like Presidents. It is presumptuous for Mr. Coody to not discourage people from referring to him as such.
As for the last campaign, I watched and/or experienced many things done by the Coody campaign that were not done in public or in public forums, so there is no way to corroborate. Let’s just say, they were disturbing, and leave it at that. However, it was very public that in the last campaign Mr. Jordan had the support of the two largest groups of City staff: firefighters and police. Mr. Jordan has their full and enthusiastic support again. I think that says a lot right there. Unless, of course, you totally dismiss those who put their lives on the line every day to protect your property and safety.
jmo
Sarah Marsh for mayor
SHOULDN’T BE DOGCATCHER.
Coody for president, Bro.
Ok Flyer. We are ready for Dickson street statistics so we can put this parking thing to rest.
This was an interesting read, and I’m speaking of the comments obviously, haha.