Repeal of 1% Option Tax Won't Be On Ballot

[Bubba]

From this week's Mountain Times:

Killington to hold off on tax repeal idea

Select Board chairman Chris Bianchi also announced that the resort will hold off on asking the Select Board to put a question on the March ballot that would ask voters to repeal a portion of the town’s 1 percent local options tax. Bianchi echoed an editorial by Killington and Pico president Mike Solimano in last week’s edition of The Mountain Times. The resort needs “more consensus from the town before they make any moves like that. They withdrew their request for this year,” Bianchi told the Select Board. In his op-ed, Solimano said he wants the town’s full support before making any decision on the tax but, in the meantime, asked that the town get behind changing the Killington Chamber of Commerce into the Killington/Pico Area Association and restructuring the way the town and resort fund marketing and events. The resort and town would have a seat at the table of the KPAA. Supporting the KPAA is also a top economic development priority for the town in 2015, according to a presentation made by Killington town manager Seth Webb on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

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From last week's Mountain Times

Opinion

December 18, 2014

Killington resort updates tax repeal request
By Mike Solimano, President and GM of Killington Resort/Pico Mountain

Since I first proposed repealing the sales portion of the 1 percent option tax last fall, I have had countless positive, encouraging conversations with local officials, residents and business owners about how this measure is important for us all. There has also been much debate regarding the best means to bring about the policy changes the resort needs to properly invest in significant new infrastructure.

In addition to my many productive conversations, I have also listened to many local residents and business owners as they expressed concerns about the ultimate impacts of the repeal. I understand these concerns so I have decided the resort should delay asking the Selectmen to put the 1 percent option tax repeal on the ballot for this March’s Town Meeting Day.

While I do not agree with every objection or doubt raised, taking more time to fully explain the resort’s plan to the community is in everyone’s best interest. We will look ahead to next fall or the following Town Meeting Day to address the option tax. This time allows us to share information with all parties involved, begin phase two of our summer growth plan with expanded mountain bike operations and new on-site attractions and let the Killington Pico Area Association (KPAA) start to gain traction.

The KPAA is a critical piece of the overhaul plan, and we want to give the organization time to prove itself by clarifying its mission and demonstrating an ability to support marketing efforts of the town and region. The only way to properly do this is to give the KPAA time to establish a working system of governance. A strong and vibrant KPAA will help the community define its summer marketing agenda.

We are already seeding the future of the KPAA with our extended Merchant Pass program, and have attracted participating businesses as far away as Rutland and Quechee. To date we have sold over 300 passes (with over 50 purchased from the extended region), and we still have one meeting remaining where we anticipate selling many more.

To encourage participation, we have lifted all restrictions on Merchant Passes for the second year in a row, which means unlimited access to Killington and Pico every day of the season. The resort’s contributions from sales of Merchant Passes provide the KPAA with critical baseline funding, and we are pleased with the current pace of program growth.

Killington Resort still views tax modification as an essential component of successful summer growth, but we will not push ahead without the support of our community. The trust between the town of Killington, its residents and the resort is essential to our continued success and the growth we all desire.