When the voters of the city of Hollister go to the polls on Nov. 6 they will have a unique opportunity to vote on a tax that could actually save them money and will not cost the vast majority of them one dime. A natural reaction might be to say, “Seagull, have you lost your mind, a tax we not only don’t pay but that can save us money! Do you think we are stupid?” Quite the opposite, the Ole Seagull agrees with a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln saying, “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
In terms of real facts, most people would acknowledge that Hollister is growing at a rapid pace. As long as that growth is a balance between commercial and residential the expenses involved in providing the normal city services for that growth can, in most cases be met out of the current tax structure. Although an oversimplification, to an Ole Seagull it is more a “one to one thing,” one unit of residential or commercial growth and the unit of taxation necessary to furnish the city services necessary to support that unit of growth.
There is however an area of growth that is not consistent with that type of tax structure and that is in the area of tourism or, what the Ole Seagull refers to as, destination growth. It is that exponential pulsating type of growth that occurs when large numbers of people come to a destination, on either a day trip or transient, overnight, basis, for entertainment, relaxation, shopping or to enjoy or do something for which they willing to travel to that destination for.
In the early 1990s, Branson, a town that was already growing in the area of tourism and destination visitors, experienced what happened when the tourism and destination growth outgrew the resources available to service it. Branson reacted well and immediately put into place a tourism tax to help finance the infrastructure and marketing necessary to service and market that growth. The rest, so to speak, is history; new roads, sewer and water plants, and marketing that have helped maintain and expand that growth.
“Now hold on Seagull, are you comparing the actual or potential tourism or destination growth of Hollister with Branson?” Of course not, Hollister is just beginning to grow in that area but that is exactly the point. Hollister residents have a unique chance to include the tax structure necessary to support and market that growth into the very process itself, at its earliest stages, and, in large part, ensure that the costs of that growth are paid for by the people creating, and most directly benefiting from, it rather than the residents of Hollister.
When one reads the portion of the Nov. 6 ballot entitled the “City of Hollister Question,” stating what the 5 percent tax will apply to and who will pay the tax, it is immediately apparent that the vast majority of Hollister residents will never pay a dime of the tax. The ballot says, “Shall the City of Hollister levy a tax of five percent (5%) on each sleeping room or campsite occupied and rented by transient guests and any docking facility which rents slips to recreational boats which are used by transients for sleeping in the City of Hollister…?”
What is not obvious on the ballot and in the term “Tourism Tax,” commonly used to characterize the tax, is how the tax proceeds will be used. According to information received from Hollister city administrator, Rick Ziegenfuss, 75 percent of the tax will be used for infrastructure and tourism related operational costs and 25 percent will be used for marketing.
How can the tax save money for Hollister residents? Is not the answer to that question contained in the answer to the question, “If Hollister experiences the tourism and destination growth that is anticipated, will there be adequate resources to support that growth and who will pay the costs of that growth?” The very question that Hollister voters will answer on November 6?
