A proposal to charge a per-ticket admissions tax to events in Nelson County has been put on hold following a public hearing last week that drew an earful of concerns from local businesses and stakeholders.
Of the eight people who addressed supervisors during the public hearing last Tuesday, the majority spoke out against the proposed 5 percent admissions tax that would go into effect Jan. 1.
Due to the input, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors decided to spend more time considering the impact from the ordinance before moving forward.
Popular events, including the Lockn’ Music Festival in Arrington and Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s Hoopla festival in Roseland, would be required to charge the admissions tax per ticket, turn in tax records and collections monthly to Nelson County’s commissioner of the revenue and keep records of doing so for at least three years, according to the draft ordinance presented to supervisors last month.
Events that are school-related, wholly charitable or charge less than $1 per ticket would be exempt under the proposed ordinance.
Dave Frey, who co-owns Lockn’ Festival, said the proposed tax is not a good idea.
“We are not a burden on the county when it comes to services,” Frey said.
Frey said festival owners have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the property, including purchasing it in 2014, digging wells for water, and building what he said is the largest septic system in the county.
In addition, in the last five years, Frey said Lockn’ has paid more than $913,445 in taxes to the county and spent roughly $963,715 on county emergency services. He also said the festival has spent roughly $4.9 million with Nelson County vendors such as Ramsey & Son, Tiger Fuel and Colleen Feed & Seed, among other businesses, and donated nearly $150,000 within the past five years to local charities that include the Nelson County Food Pantry, the Crozet Tunnel Foundation, Class of 2001 John Holland Scholarship Fund and Wheeling for Hope, among others.
“Collecting the admissions tax, I think it diminishes people’s appetites to do events,” Frey said. “We are still in the red; we invested, but we are done investing. We need to make money in 2019.”
Lindsay Dorrier III, Bold Rock Hard Cider’s director of retail operations and vice president of Nelson 151, a group of wineries, breweries and cideries along Virginia 151, said during the public hearing the proposed ordinance was overly broad and hastily produced and stakeholders would prefer to work with the county in crafting the ordinance.
“We just ask for more consideration for more input from businesses so we can come up with something that’s reasonable,” Dorrier said.
The board is considering the proposed admissions tax because county staff have projected Nelson’s growth in expenditures is set to outpace revenue growth. By fiscal year 2023, the county is projected to have a shortfall of $1.9 million, chairman Thomas Bruguiere Jr. said during the public hearing.
“If anyone has suggestions to raise money and not necessarily on the backs of Nelson County residents, I would love to hear it,” Bruguiere said.
At best, the admissions tax could bring in $290,000 in one year in new revenue for the county, and that estimate includes an unlikely 100 percent collection rate, according to county officials.
Supervisors Tommy Harvey and Larry Saunders said during the public hearing they need more time to consider the impact from the proposed ordinance.
“I’m not ready to vote either way,” Saunders said. “I want to study it and know the facts.”
Supervisor Jesse Rutherford said while the county has been supportive of the beer and wine industry, especially — including supporting career and technical education — county leaders were just looking at the ordinance as a possible source of revenue.
Supervisor Ernie Reed said after the public hearing he currently is not in favor of the proposed ordinance.
Bruguiere Jr. said the board did not take any action after the public hearing and it can revisit the proposed tax at any future board meeting. The earliest meeting the board could discuss it again is June 12, he said.