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HOTEL TAXES 'We can always use it'
The verdict was a rare bit of good fi- Texas cities are nancial news for Fort Worth. The city
slashed its budget this year to make
up for a downturn in tax revenue.
Dozens of positions have been cut, owed $2 0 million, and most employees dl have to take
eight unpaid furlough days this year: federal jury says Assistant City Manager Karen
Montgomery said she hadn't heard of
the case but was happy about the ver-
The cities sued online hotel booking companies over dict. "We can always use it," she said.
occupancy taxes. There are restrictions on how cities
can spend hotel occupancy tax reve-
By SUSAN SCHROCK sschrock@star-telegram corn nue; it can't be used to offset a drop ig A jur)' has awarded $20 million to Fort Worth, Dallas, Grape- geneid tax funds, for example, she
vine and more than 170 other Texas cities as part of a federal ,~d,
class-action lawsuit against online hotel booking companies Cities use such revenue for infra-
qccused of pocketing hotel occupancy taxes as profit. . , Numerous North Texas cites participated in the lawsuit, 44 we will be darn
first filed by Sp Antonio in 2006, to collect tourism tax reve-
nue that they said was underpaid by Internet hotel room Sure in the future that
wholesalers. . ' that we're going to get According to the lawsuit, heard in San Antonio, booking 1
companies such as Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Priceline.com paid what we should."
and Southlake-based Travelocity have paid cities hotel occu- Jay Doegey, Arlington city arrorney pancy taxes based only on the wholesale rates they had ne-'
gotiatedwith the hotels rather than the retail rates customers
paid when they booked online. structure and initiatives that promote
For instance, if the companies booked a block of rooms at tourismand the convention and hotel
$75 a night and resold them for $100 a night, they paid taxes industry, such as convention centers,.
sports,stadiums and arts programs. only on the lower rate.
"The companies ignored the Texas Fort Worth, which qollected $17.1
comptroller's rulings that go back to million in hotel occupancy taxes in
fiscal 2008, used some of th'e revenue 2002 that clearIy tell them they must for incentives on the new Ornni Fort remit the hotel occupancy taxes Worth Hotel. , based on the price they charge cus-
tomers for hotel rooms that they sell "It's important 'money during
in Texas," said Steve Wolens, lead trial these tough economic times. But tax-
attorney for the cities. es are taxes whether the economy is
Fort Worth stands to gain rmllions flying high or sinking low. These are
of dollars and is one of the top cities taxes they were obligated to collect
owed money, behind San Antonio, and remit," Wolens said. "They were
Dallas and Austin, said Wolens, of na- pocketing the difference."
tional law firm McKool Smith. 0ther1'1
North Texas cities in the suit include Tougher ordinance
Mansfield, Hurst, E-s, Bedford, The jury reached its verdict, which
Grand Prairie and Irving. could rise with statutory penalties
and interest, on Friday after a four-
week trial in the U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Texas. Wolens
emcts the verdict to be appealed,
and at least 45 similar cases are being
litigated nationwide, he said.
ArIington did not participate in the
- NE WSPUER FWST
class action lawsuit, but the City
Council is expected to vote today to
toughen its ordinance on hotel occu-
pancytax collections in light ofthe lit-
igation. Part ofArlingtonls hotel occu-
pancy tax revenue is being used to
pay back the city's portion of the $1.2
billion Cowboys Stadium.
"We're not going to get anything
fidm the past," Arlington City Attor-
ney Jay Doegey said. "We WIU be darn
sure in the future that that we're going
to get paid what we should be paid."
Staff wrlter Mike Lee contr~buted to this report,
wk,,ch ~ncludes mater~al from the star:?degram
archlves
&";AN SCHROCK. 817-390-7639
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Woman in rammingcase ruled incompetent
FORT WORTH -A woman accused oframming her car
twice.into a ~uless police car in September has been
found incompetent to stand trial, according to Tarrant
County criminal court records, Rosemarie Adams, 28, of.
Euless.will be taken to a state mental hospital for treat-
ment, court officials said Tuesday. Whe! doctors deter-
mine that she'is competent, Adams will, be returned to
Tarrant Coun;y to face a charge of aggravated assault on
a pubtic servant, cqurt officials,said. The incompetency
ruling was returned Friday in Criminal ~istrict-court No.
'372. ~he'~olice officer involved re~orted~that abput2
p.m. Sept. 26.. he was taking an exit off Aiqport Freeway A
when he heard a car rewing its engine behind him and
then he feIt the back of his car rise. The Far was then hit
a again, he said. Adams was not intoxicated and,did not .
know the officer, investigators reported;
- Domingo Ra~irez Jr.
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TRANSPORTATION
Airport Freeway project
OI< frees up right of way - !
'. I State oficials and private most of the 340 parcels needed includes the uroposed expan- ,
developers hope to break for the expansion are COm- si0n of Northeast Loop 820 in ,
ground on the Texas , mercial. "That process will Haltom City and North Rich- i
121/183 and Loop 820 continue over a period of land Hills - and eyentually 1
expansion in late 2010. about 24 months. The first of- expansion of Interstate 35W in 1
fers are probably not going to far north Fort Worth.
be made until early.2010." The part of the project
By GORDON DICKSON The Transportation De- cleafed by the FHA last week
gd~ckson@star-telegrarn.com partment may also now sign includes Texas 121/!d3 from
The proposed expansion of closing documents with NTE North East Mall in Hurst to
Texas 121 / 183 in Bedford, Eu- Mobility Partners, a private e ex as 161 in Irhng. The federal j
less, Hurst and Irving has been development group that plans document is known as a find- i
given environmental clear- to rebuild Aiiport Freeway ing of no significant impact, "
ance by the Federal Highway with toll and nontoll lanes. which demonstrates that local
Administration i The project is known col- officials have . properly
The approval makes it pos- lectively as North Tarrant Ex- thought through all of the eco-
sible for the Texas Transporta press and is expected to cost logical consequences, noise
tionDepartrnent to begin buy- $2 billion overall, with gas tax and other effects.
ing right of way'- bringing dollars covering about $570 The first phase of North ,
closute to dozens of home- million and private invest- Tarrant Express includes re-
owners in the Hurst area who ment covering the rest. Work building lanes.and adding toll '
have known for much of the could start in late 2010. lanes on Nor+east,Loop 820
past two decades that their NTE Mobility Partners, led from I-35W to North East Mall,
property was in the way of bythe U.S. arm of Spain-based and on wort Freeway from
progress but couldn't sell it. Cintra, has signed an agree- North East Mall to the Texas
"The process to acquire ment to develop a'master plan 1211183 split in Becurd.
right of way has already be- for the qea, oversee the first Mwe nontoll lanes would
gun. People are being contact- phase of construction and col- be added by 2030.
ed," project spokesman Rob- lect tolls for up to 52 years. e
ert Hinkle said, adding that North Tarrant Express also GORDON DICKSON. 817-390-77% . d-