As of June 17, guests that utilize hotels in Del Mar will now see a 13 percent “transient occupancy tax” added to their hotel bills. The Del Mar City Council unanimously decided to raise the tax from 12.5 percent to 13 percent. As a result of the tax increase, the city of Del Mar is projected to gain $120,000 more a year, which will be used for general maintenance.
On average, lodging taxes in cities range from 10 to 15 percent. The voters of Del Mar allowed the city to have a maximum of 13 percent for the tax, but the city never considered raising it to 13 percent until recently. Before the increase, the lodging tax was set at 12.5 percent with no clear indication of being increased. Multiple council members argued how the tax increase would result in many benefits for the city.
Following the approval of the two year budget for Del Mar, which will officially start July 1, the city is going to be working with $13 million for the 2019-2020 year and $13.5 million for the 2020-2021. Furthermore, with funding for public works included, Del Mar will have $29.9 million for the 2019-2020 year and $35.1 million for 2020-2021.
After everything accounted for, the finance board for Del Mar is pleased with the budget. It will be enough to accomplish all the tasks the city plans to achieve while keeping the city in good financial standing. Lastly, it will leave a significant budget surplus that the city can utilize for other activities in the future.
Photo by Josh Esh
