Unreported Properties Depress May Room Tax Report

Room tax collections in May were down 1.2 percent compared to the same month last year in the Door County Tourism Zone’s preliminary reporting, but that number should rebound as late collections from 73 properties filter in.

Pending that rebound, the City of Sturgeon Bay had a particularly slow month of May, registering a 20.5 percent decrease in collections. That is keeping with the trend in Sturgeon Bay, as the city has brought in fewer room tax dollars than last year in four of the first five months of 2018.

Commission administrator Kim Roberts said some of the five outstanding properties in Sturgeon Bay are large contributors to room tax collection and she expects a turnaround in next month’s update.

Meanwhile, the Town of Egg Harbor, Sister Bay, Ephraim and Gibraltar are showing a strong first half to the year.

The Village of Ephraim saw an 11.7 percent gain in May, bringing the village’s year to date gains up to 7.6 percent. That is welcome news for the village, which had a slow year in 2017, losing its position as the third largest room tax generator in the county.

The Town of Egg Harbor continues to drive the largest percentage gains in room tax collections. The town was up 10.6 percent in May, adding to a 21.8 percent increase year to date.

The Village of Egg Harbor, however, has not fared as well. Collections in May were down 10.6 percent and year to date collections are down 8.9 percent.

Countywide, year to date collections are down 0.7 percent, but that number should break even or show gains pending the inclusion of late collections from May. The commission will include those late collections in next month’s report.