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To generate more tax revenue without dipping into the pockets of residents, the Bradley Village Board is considering an amusement tax.
The measure was presented to the trustees for a vote on Monday, but at the request of Trustee Gene Jordan, it was tabled.
The vote to table the ordinance was 6-0.
The addition to the village’s amusements and entertainment ordinance will likely come up for a vote at the Aug. 25 board meeting.
The ordinance would put into place a 5% tax on entrance fees for locations such as the newly opened 315 Sports Park and the planned indoor water park at the Northfield Square mall area.
The tax would also be assessed on other amusement businesses such as a movie theater or a pool hall, noted Rob Romo, Bradley’s finance director.
Romo said after the meeting that the tax would likely not impact more than 10 Bradley-based locations.
After the board meeting, Romo explained that the tax is a way for the village to capture several hundred thousand dollars, chiefly from visitors to the community.
He said the tax would be an additional fee imposed by these businesses. In that way, he said, it would not come from the business location’s bottom line.
However, when the ordinance came up for a vote, Jordan stated his opposition to applying the tax to existing businesses, such as a pool hall.
He felt those locations could be grandfathered into the law, meaning that because they were in existence prior to the tax, they would not be subjected to it.
The administration did not think that tactic would be proper, but rather that all places of amusement should operate under the same rules.
“We have to be inclusive,” Romo said. “We can’t carve out businesses.”
Charitable organizations, such as the American Legion, would not be subject to the tax.
Jordan said he would like the village to make the businesses aware of the tax before the village adopts it. He said the trustees should also be aware of what businesses would be under this amusement tax.
He explained the village would simply be taking money out of the business owner’s pocket. Mayor Mike Watson and Romo said the tax would simply be passed along to those attending games at the 315 park or playing pool or enjoying the water park, among other businesses subjected to the tax.
Watson said this would be a way for the village to capture additional tax money without reaching into the pockets of property owners.
The administration was targeting Sept. 1 for the tax to take effect. Based on the board’s vote delay, it would appear the tax would not take effect until Oct. 1 at the earliest.
While the village owns the 127 acres where the youth baseball, softball and soccer complex resides immediately east of the Bradley Commons Shopping Center, the operator of the park, JP Sports and Entertainment, of Moline, would be assessed the tax.
It would be up to JP Sports to then increase what it charges for park admission to not be subject to losing its revenue.
While the village could realize significant amusement tax revenues from the 315 Sports Park, it would be the planned 2-acre indoor water park that could bring significant increases of taxes into the village coffers.