by Dennis Dalman
At a special election set for Tuesday, Feb. 8, Sartell residents will be asked to consider adopting a food-and-beverage tax of up to 1.5 percent.
The special election will be held from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. at the city’s polling places, and absentee ballots will be allowed.
If approved by voters, the collected tax revenue could be used only for funding capital and operating costs for a variety of recreational amenities – to improve or expand current ones or to help pay for future ones. The revenue could be used for playgrounds, trails or to expand Pinecone Central Park – to name just three examples.
At its Oct. 25 meeting, the Sartell City Council unanimously approved the request for the special election. The proposal is a recommendation from “Everything Sartell.” That organization represents the city’s Chamber and Convention Bureau, the Hospitality and Visitors Services and the Economic Development Commission. It is comprised of many business members, including numerous bars and restaurants.
The special-election proposal was presented to the council by Bill Worzala, a member of Everything Sartell.
If approved, the 1.5 percent sales tax would be paid by customers on purchases of food and/or beverages at bars, restaurants, coffee shops, fast-food places and restaurant delivery orders.
The tax, if passed, could generate as much as $315,000 annually, according to estimates. As more and more visitors come to Sartell, that amount could increase considerably. For example, there are 200 athletic events every year in the city, as well as other kinds of events, that attract thousands of out-of-towners who dine and drink at bars and restaurants.
The tax would not apply to sales at grocery stores, general stores, gas stations or off-sale liquor stores. The tax would be collected from customer’s bills and passed on to the city, and the establishment itself would not pay the tax.
St. Cloud has a similar food-and-beverage tax.
If voters approve, the tax could go into effect as early as July, 2022. Sartell residents and visitors to the city currently pay a sales tax of 7.625 percent. That includes the state sales tax of 6.875 percent, a county tax of ¼ cent and a regional half-cent tax of ½ cent. The latter was approved by Sartell voters in 2002, as well as voters in St. Cloud, St. Augusta and Sauk Rapids. Years later, in another special election, it was approved again by those cities, as well as by voters in St. Joseph and Waite Park.
If a resident or visitor enjoyed dinner and drinks at a Sartell bar or restaurant, they would pay the 1.5 percent drink-and-beverage tax, in addition to the 7.625 current city tax, or, in other words, a total of 9.125 in sales tax.
Revenue from that tax is collected and then distributed among the six cities to be used for projects for “regional” use.
