Bennett and McGrady Agree on Hotel Tax

Correction: It was incorrectly reported on Nov. 7, 2011 that Patrick McGrady said he supported a hotel tax in Harford County. McGrady has said he is opposed to a hotel tax. Aberdeen Patch regrets the error.

Is a hotel tax the answer to unburden taxpayers from the $9.1 million  debt?

Both Aberdeen mayoral candidates and say "yes."

If a hotel tax bill is passed, it could help the city government break even on the annual debt for  Aberdeen residents will be paying taxes on the stadium until 2022.

Harford is the only county in Maryland that does not have a hotel tax.

McGrady’s take: “The biggest thing that is dragging Aberdeen back and the reason why a lot of people in Aberdeen want this hotel tax is the Ripken Stadium deal. We’ve lost between $250,000 and $500,000 every year for the last 10 years. We’ve got 20 years worth of debt that is not going away.”

Bennett’s take: “The way we want the bill to be written is that the tax would come from tourism related activities. We would set up a formal tourism group in the city or hire someone to help do PR for tourism. The majority of that [money] would be plowed back into the stadium and keep it in good shape. It’s 10 years old now. There’s things that need to be fixed.”