Official criticizes mayor's request

York Mayor John Brenner's request for tourism dollars has irritated a top tourism official, who said Brenner is hurting the city's tourism industry with his most recent efforts to raise money.

Brenner wants York County to give the city 11 percent, or $134,137 per year, of the revenue the county

Currently, York receives no hotel tax revenue from the county, which collects the 3 percent tax on each overnight stay at hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts. All money goes to the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Dauphin County, on the other hand, gives Harrisburg 20 percent, or more than $1 million annually, of what it collects through its hotel tax. Brenner has cited Harrisburg's situation when making his case.

Anne Druck, president of the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Harrisburg's situation is an anomaly. Of the 54 counties in the state that have hotel taxes, Dauphin is the only one that allocates a portion of the collections to a city, said Barry Wickes, president of the Pennsylvania Tourism & Lodging Association.

Druck worries about what would happen if the hotel-tax law that covers York County was amended to provide York city with some of the money. "If a loophole was added to allow the city to access the funds, I think a dangerous precedent would be set," Druck said. "Why wouldn't Hanover, Shrewsbury and New Cumberland then ask us for money? The intent is not for our tourism bureau to be a United Way."

Brenner said it is not fair to compare York city to other municipalities in York County "The borough of Hanover, the borough of Shrewsbury and any other municipality in York County are not the county seat, and they do not have the concentration of historic sites that we have," Brenner said.

The amount of money collected through the county's hotel tax from Jan. 1, 2003, through Nov. 30, 2003, increased by 6 percent compared with the same period in 2002, Druck said. The county collected $1.14 million from Jan. 1, 2003, through Nov. 30, 2003.

A recent study showed a large number of visitors use York County as a place to stay while visiting areas outside the county. The bureau's study last year determined Lancaster County, Hershey and Gettysburg ranked highest in popularity with tourists, based on the percentage of people who were aware of the attractions and who visited them, Druck said. Factory tours at Harley-Davidson Inc., Snyder's of Hanover and The Pfaltzgraff Co., all of which are in York County, ranked next.

York city attractions, including the Gates House, Plough Tavern and the Colonial Court House, ranked lower. Brenner said the study's findings did not surprise him. If the city received a slice of the county's tourism dollars, it could develop better signage, hire a tour guide and open tourist sites on Sundays, he said.

"We cannot make these improvements and we cannot make the city a heritage tourism destination with fumes," Brenner said. We have zero resources. We need resources... I think this is a reasonable request."

He emphasized his idea is one of several discussion points he has made to the York County commissioners about potential city-county partnerships.

If Brenner really wants to increase tourism in York city, he should reverse his decision to collect city parking meter fees on Saturdays, Druck said. The mayor plans to begin enforcing Saturday fees starting Feb. 7.

The bureau's executive committee held a special meeting Feb. 2 to discuss Brenner's desire to tap into York County hotel tax revenue, Druck said. The committee authorized her to send a letter to Brenner. She would not disclose what the letter would say, or what was discussed at the meeting.

Druck attended a speech Brenner made Dec. 10. During that speech, he said,"... Unlike Harrisburg, which receives a sizable slice of Dauphin County hotel tax revenue each year more than $1 million per year - the city of York does not receive one cent from annual York County hotel tax revenue. Clearly, if our people believe that a clean, shiny, well-lighted county seat is a priority for creating a firstclass visitor experience, we have to address the issue of revenue-sharing..."

However, the significance of the speech, which was reprinted in part in the journal's Jan. 9 issue, didn't sink in with Druck untiI Jan. 23. On that day, she heard radio station WITF Inc. report that Brenner wanted York city to tap into York County's hotel tax revenue. She was shocked, she said.

Of the roughly 3,300 accommodation rooms in York County, approximately 140 are in York city, Druck said. The percentage of the county's hotel rooms that are in York city, 4.2 percent, is a lot lower than the percentage of the county's hotel Lax that Brenner wants, she said. However, she acknowledged people who stay in hotels outside the city visit city attractions, just as people who stay in city hotels visit places elsewhere.

Tom Donley, president of the York County Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of York city to the county's tourism industry. He declined to comment on whether a portion of the county's hotel tax should be earmarked for the city.

"The city is an outstanding visitor destination in York County, and in my mind it is the leading visitor destination in York County," Donley said. "But people don't think of it the same as they do HarleyDavidson. I'd agree with the mayor that more of our room money should be aimed at helping the city of York. The question is how that should happen."