On August 26, 2009 in a special Town Meeting vote, Brookline will institute a local meals tax of .75% and a hotel sales tax of 2%. This will mean that the sales tax for meals, which increased to 6.25% from 5% on August 1, will be increased again to 7% on October 1 of this year. On October 1, the hotel and lodging tax will go up to 11.7%.
The Coolidge Corner Merchants Association, the Brookline Chamber of Commerce, and this publication endorsed this new tax from its inception. Our community has been hit hard by our current economic doldrums. Any action that will help Brookline stay safe, maintain our educational excellence, ensure we meet our commitments to our town employees, and maintain the vibrancy of our town is good.
The business community and town government have come together during these rough times so that when better economic times return, we all prosper together. My thanks go out to Selectmen Jesse Mermell, Selectmen Betsy Dewitt, Town Administrator Richard Kelliher, and many others for reaching out to the business community in recent months.
The new meals and sales tax can be a further detriment to Brookline restaurants, hotels, and B&B’s, but only if we let it. Restaurant sales in Brookline are down, and they are down by a lot. Three Coolidge Corner restaurants have closed in the last few weeks. They will eventually be replaced by new restaurants, but in some cases, it will be at least 6 months before a new restaurant is operational in that location. If my math is current, .75% of 0 is 0.
We urge Brookline Government to invest in its commercial areas. Starting on October 1, for every $100 spent at a Brookline restaurant, 75 cents goes right back into Brookline’s coffers, as well as $2 for every $100 spent on Brookline lodging. In 2007, an estimated $118,000,000 was spent at our restaurants. It doesn’t take an accountant to tell us that .75% of $130,000,000 is more than .75% of less than $100,000,000, which is more than likely where we will be at the end of 2009.
This publication calls for the formation of an Oversight Committee made up of residents and business leaders to direct the funding of marketing, PR and events, with the direct purpose of increasing the local revenue. This investment will not only help the town through higher tax revenues, but will help local restaurants, hotels, B&Bs and all the businesses that surround them, which is good for all of us. Maintaining vibrant commercial areas and independent businesses will help keep Brookline an eclectic mix of urban, home-town-feel and diversity that has made us a model for communities across the United States.It also maintains commercial real estate values, which maintain commercial real estate taxes, and residential property values, which maintain residential property taxes, which maintain our schools, fire and police departments, and other services . According to the350project.net, for every $100 spent at a local independent business, $68 stays in that local community.
You can help Brookline too. Times our tougher for most of us now and many of us eat out less. But when we do eat out, we have a choice. There are many great places to dine in our town. Starting October 1, every time you dine at a Brookline restaurant you help your community. And if you live outside of Brookline, but love to visit areas like Coolidge Corner and you want it to stay the way it is, come visit us more often. Eat, shop, attend the nation’s only non-profit movie theatre, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and enjoy the vibe. And when you have relatives visit, whether they root for the Red Sox or not, entice them to lodge at Courtyard Marriott, The Holiday Inn, or one of the many great Bed & Breakfasts in Brookline.
And we’re going to help you. Starting this Fall, we will run profiles on local establishments to introduce you, or in some cases re-introduce you, to what Coolidge Corner and Brookline has to offer.
R. Harvey Bravman