It wasn’t unanimous, but Pictou County council passed second reading of its own Marketing Levy by-law.
Like other municipalities, the County will collect a three percent levy on room rates for hotels, motels and B&B’s beginning in 2024, which will be given to DEANS to fund tourism marketing of Pictou County.
Councillors who voted against the by-law – including Mary Elliott, Darla MacKeil and Warden Robert Parker – said that while they support increasing tourism, they were concerned about the lack of a mechanism to oversee how the levy money would be spent, and that the by-law could lead other business organizations to ask for similar tax collections from businesses by the county.
Before voting, councillors Larry Turner & Andy Thompson summed up the view of those voting yes by noting that DEANS has been receiving money from the county for years without an issue, and that any levies proposed by other groups in the future would have to make a sound case to council before it could pass.