Rock Island Today

Quad Cities Dispatch/Argus recently issued the following announcement.

 After hearing concerns from several business owners, East Moline City Council members voted 6-0 Monday night to reconsider the city's entertainment and eatery tax.

The council now wants to get more information about the tax to the community. Because this was not an agenda item for the Monday meeting, the council could conduct no further discussion on the issue.

Monday’s council meeting was attended by several owners of small businesses within the city who addressed the council regarding the increase to 2 percent in prepared food and liquor (“eatery”) taxes and imposing a 3 percent tax on what was referred to as an amusement tax — or a tax on admission to various entertainment events — which was passed at the Feb. 19 meeting.

Mayor Reggie Freeman stated he and the council were aware of why the business owners were present. He explained city staff had been instructed to look for ways to increase revenue in order to address the city’s deficit and added that because East Moline is not a Home Rule municipality, it is limited on what it can tax. He further admitted that the city could have handled communication with the business owners much better and that as a result the city has pushed back the effective date for the new taxation to June 1.

Gary Schmooke, owner of Smokey’s Country Diner, was the first to speak and told the council that his biggest complaint was the way the matter was handled. Business owners received letters informing them of the increase a day or two after the council meeting. He added that the tax increase will be “rough on independent businesses.” He further stated that in the 10 years he has operated, no alderman or alderwoman has ever stopped in to his business and introduced themselves.

Connie Cornmesser, owner of Hey Bryan's Sports Bar and President of Rock Island County Liquor Association, said East Moline was a smaller community than either Moline or Rock Island. She said now the tax rate is half a percent higher than either of those cities.

Patricia Hansen, director for East Moline Main Street, informed the council she has heard from multiple business owners and the new tax will threaten her ability to obtain sponsors for events in the city.

“I’m terrified,” Hansen said.

She also questioned how the additional tax money would be used, adding that the city should have communicated, “Yeah, this is going to hurt, but this is what you’re going to get for it.”

Andy Fuhrman of Godfather’s Pizza said when he had to decide whether to close his Godfather’s operation in Davenport or East Moline, he specifically chose East Moline to remain open because he loves the city. He said the increase in taxation made him the “bad guy” to his customers when he had to raise prices.

He added that Godfather’s corporate offices — which owns his building — have been encouraging him to move to Iowa because of lower property taxes.

Every speaker cited that this increase, coupled with the looming increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next several years, will make operating their businesses more difficult and may even force them to close. All agreed that the city should be doing all it can to attract new businesses rather than driving current businesses away.

In other business, board members voted 4-2 to remove payment of a $104,737.64 bill to Great River Property for work being completed at the Bend.

Alderwoman Alissa Sallows and Yao (Fredrick) Kotoku voted against excluding the bill.

Alderman Gary Almblade said he had been critical of the Bend development and how it was handled.

"Nothing has been done for several months, but we are still being getting charged $104,000?" Almblade asked.

City Administrator Doug Maxeiner explained that there were some "loose ends" that were tied up with the project. He said there was legal counsel on both sides working toward a resolution.

Freeman said that at the end of the project, the money needed to be distributed in order to pay their vendors. He said the TIF attorney approved paying of that bill.

"We are trying to close out with Great River Properties so our obligations and their obligations are met," Freeman said. "The payment has nothing to do with the apartments, has nothing to do with the gas station."

Freeman said the apartments development was holding on one "hiccup" from the plans submitted to the city they are trying to solve first.

"Otherwise they would have started in a week, and now they are looking at two weeks," Freeman said.

Sallows explained to board members that, from her previous experience working with billing from vendors, they often don't get bills out right away.

"The bills, when they bill, sometimes those bills don't come in for 90 days," Sallows said. "It may be a backlog of the bills from these individual contractors. I can very easily see how they are just now getting caught up."

Original source can be found here.