Entertainment

Room tax increase passed by city council

Published

5 years ago

June 13, 2019

La Crosse’s hotel room tax will be rising soon.

The city council voted Thursday night to increase the existing 8 percent tax to 9.5 percent, as a way to help pay off improvements to the La Crosse Center.

Mayor Tim Kabat has spoken with leaders from La Crosse County and the city of Onalaska, but he has not gotten commitments from either entity to pay for the Center project.

The county wants to wait until budget time this fall before making any spending commitments, and Onalaska has not decided yet.

Only two council members opposed the increase, including Jessica Olson, who hopes that the increase does not have an adverse effect on too many businesses.

Kabat says if Onalaska and La Crosse County choose not to chip in for the $42 million La Crosse Center project, the city tax levy would cover the amount being requested of those governments.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.