INDReporter

Bar levy repeal up for vote

by Walter Pierce

Some bar owners have long argued that they already pay sales taxes and the levy is an unfair, additional tax by local government.

The Lafayette City-Parish Council will vote Tuesday on an ordinance for final adoption that would repeal the monthly fee downtown bars pay to cover the cost of extra police presence along Jefferson Street on busy weekend nights. The ordinance by Councilman Brandon Shelvin, who represents the downtown district, passed the council as an introductory item two weeks ago.

The levy is based on each bar's capacity and ranges from $186 per month for Frankie's Bar & Grill to Karma's $4,870 monthly fee. Several bars stopped paying the fee earlier this fall, prompting a showdown with LCG and a possible tilt in state district court. Some bar owners have long argued that they already pay sales taxes and the levy is an unfair, additional tax by local government.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the council auditorium at City Hall.