Applications available for Hotel/Motel Sales Tax grants

Applications for approximately $40,000 in Le Mars Hotel/Motel Tax funding will be available at the Le Mars City Hall during regular business hours beginning Monday, Dec. 1.

Applications must be returned to city hall no later than noon Tuesday, Dec. 30, for consideration.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered for funding -- no exceptions.

Format of the applications was changed last year to increase impact and funding efficiency. Complete instructions are provided with the application forms.

Le Mars non-profit and not-for-profit organizations qualify for Hotel/Motel tax funds.

Projects must begin no earlier than July 1, 2009, and must be completed by June 30, 2010.

Multiple projects must be submitted on separate applications.

Funding applications must be picked up at city hall and are not available on-line.

Organizations receiving Hotel/Motel tax funds cannot request additional funding toward the same project from the Le Mars City Council.

Organizations will not be notified of awards until February after city budgets have been approved.

Since the incorporation of the five percent Hotel/Motel tax in Le Mars on Sept. 4, 2001, more than $700,000 in grant funds has been awarded to a variety of projects that comply with Iowa state code related to the tax. An additional five percent tax is applied to all lodging within the city of Le Mars. Taxes are collected from guests and are sent to the state which returns the funds quarterly to cities which have incorporated this tax.

The Hotel/Motel sales tax was approved by Le Mars voters in 2001 and is scheduled to end in 2015.

A second vote, which would be held in 2013, is needed to continue the tax past 2015.

The Le Mars Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Advisory Board annually reviews and recommends award amounts to the Le Mars City Council for final approval.

"We have learned a lot in the past seven years," said Lisa Whitehead who has served as the committee representative for the Le Mars lodging industry since the fund's inception.

"We all want to maximize our grant program and really ramp up the accountability part of this process," Whitehead said.