SAN DIEGO
Hotel owners in San Diego will soon be receiving ballots with a question about whether they want to raise the city's hotel-room tax. The money would go to a major expansion of the San Diego Convention Center.
They have a month to decide. But they're playing some serious power politics next week. Whether they get what they want may very well determine if the tax goes up. (Assuming they are legally allowed to raise the tax without a vote of the public—a point the city attorney has said is questionable).
What do they want? They want the City Council to take away the sales and marketing operations from the Convention Center Corporation and give it to the Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Ostensibly that would mean more convention business would flow to local hotels. This has organized labor worried.
The Chamber of Commerce sent out a blast imploring its supporters to line up behind the change schedule for Tuesday. "Approval of this agreement is an ESSENTIAL step toward the convention center expansion, a top priority of the Chamber," the statement said.
Courtesy of voiceofsandiego.org
