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Medford motel tax gets support By Jessica Smith If early election results are any indication, visitors who stay overnight in Medford will pay a little extra for their beds beginning in January. But the money is going to a good cause, say supporters of Measure 15-19, which proposes a 50 percent increase in the transient lodging tax. The tax increase is part of a funding package planned for a 124-acre sports mecca and other park improvements. As of 10:30 p.m., the measure was passing by 53 percent with 2,596 of the votes counted favoring the tax increase. About 47 percent, or 2,290, of the votes counted opposed the increase. Eric Schwarm, who campaigned for the measure as a member of the Rogue Valley Soccer Club, said he was surprised the results were so close. "We hadn�t counted publicly any opposition, but from what I�ve seen the vote is fairly close," Schwarm said. "It sounds encouraging at this point that it will pass, though, and that tells us that our efforts have paid off." Measure proponents have stressed hard the tax increase�s significance to a planned sports park off Highway 99, behind the defunct Starlite Drive-in. Support from local hoteliers also made the difference, measure proponents say. Early on, Measure 15-19 supporters tried to make clear the benefit of the tax increase. With the extra money, the sports complex is a sure bet, meaning more crowds for sporting tournaments and more business for hotels. Visitors to Medford already pay a 6 percent lodging tax each night they stay in town, generating about $1.1 million in revenue for the city each year. The tax applies only to visitors staying less than 27 days at local hotels. Passage of Measure 15-19 authorizes the city to raise the lodging tax on room receipts from 6 percent to as high as 9 percent. City leaders have agreed, however, to hold the tax at 8 percent for the first five years. With the increase, the city expects to collect an extra $385,000 a year from visitors for parks improvement and marketing efforts by the Visitors & Convention Bureau. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.