CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Waive the first reading and pass the ordinance amending Section 3-1-9 of the Naperville Municipal Code modifying the allocation of food and beverage taxes to fund Naper Settlement and mental health initiatives (requires six positive votes)
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DEPARTMENT: Finance Department
SUBMITTED BY: Rachel Mayer, Finance Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In 2004, the City used its home rule authority to establish a 1.0% Food & Beverage Tax that is applied to the purchase of prepared food and beverages sold in restaurants and other establishments throughout the City. The City established this tax to fund what is now known as the Special Events and Community Arts (SECA) Grant Program. The SECA Grant Program provides funding for City services to support social and artistic special events, as well as provide supplemental funding to entities that provide cultural experiences for residents and visitors of Naperville.
The Municipal Code has been amended several times over the past two decades to address various issues related to the administration of the tax, as well as the allocation of the funds collected under the tax. A brief history of those revisions is as follows:
* April 2004 - Established a citywide Food & Beverage Tax of 1.0% (Ord. 04-051) and established the Culture Fund (Ord. 04-056)
* June 2004 - Text amendments including the application of tax to community events and created various exemptions including mobile food vending (Ord. 04-103)
* October 2008 - Amended Section 9 of Chapter 1 of Title 3 to provide for the creation of a Downtown Food and Beverage Tax (Ord. 08-197)
* May 2009 - Additional text amendments related to community events, including the application of late fees (Ord. 09-061)
* March 2010 - Authorized temporary allocation of 25% of Food & Beverage Tax revenue to the General Fund in response to declining revenues during the Great Recession (Ord. 10-028)
* April 2013 - Revised the a...
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