INC NEWS - Please vote for Prepared Meals Tax

Fri Oct 31 18:04:04 EDT 2008

Preservation Durham was one of the first, if not the first, 
organizations to endorse the Prepared Meals Tax.  Please consider 
voting YES in the upcoming election. Below is some of the information 
that shaped our decision.

  10 Lessons That Shaped Durham's Meals Tax Referendum

Durham's November 4th referendum for a penny on the dollar meals tax 
was shaped by internal consensus but informed by analysis of other 
communities.  Spearheaded by DCVB, Durham studied guidelines by the 
North Carolina Restaurant Association, since rescinded in protest of 
the General Assembly's reduction of a tax on 
groceries.<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1018512314&msgid=30890233&act=6VHD&c=53913&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcvb-nc.com%2Fcomm%2Fenews%2FVol8Issue15%2Ftax.pdf>
But Durham analyzed how and where a similar tax was being used in 
North Carolina and across the county and adapted best practices to 
the communities circumstances.

2 Similarities with other prepared meals taxes:
    * It is the same amount, 1% as those in North Carolina and half 
the rate levied in many other places including many cities in South Carolina.
    * Similar to the meals tax in Raleigh and Charlotte, which were 
levied during an early '90's recession, as dictated by the 
Legislature, Durham's if approved, will also fall during difficult 
economic times.
9 Differences with other prepared meals taxes:
    * Different than any other, Durham will seek voter approval.
    * Different than almost any other, Durham actually had economists 
document the impact on lower income households and adjusted the uses 
to compensate.
    * Different than most, Durham's will shift 40% of the costs for 
intended uses to visitors and non-residents working in Durham, which 
is double to triple other communities. 4.
    * Different than any other, Durham has identified up front, 
strategic, but specific uses and ensured they will be more beneficial 
to both diners and leisure dining-out businesses.
    * Different than almost any other, focus group discussions were 
held with Durham organizations over a 17-year period to glean consensus.
    * Different than most, Durham is not going to use the funds to 
emulate other communities, but instead to grow indigenously as a 
destination and foster place-based assets.
    * Different than Raleigh and Charlotte's meals tax, rather than 
helping to facilitate approval, Durham's proposal is being opposed by 
the state restaurant association in protest to the state's reduction 
of the sales tax on groceries.
    *  8. Different than others, Durham's uses follow good tax 
policy, "special tax, special benefit", with each use related 
directly or indirectly to dining out or take out businesses.
    * Different than others, Durham's is endorsed by 30 groups 
including newspapers, divergent political action communities, 
economic development, cultural and recreational, plus a wide range of 
business, hospitality and community leaders.

Published by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. Copyright 2008 
Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. All rights reserved. Images used 
by the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau are for promotional use only.
Organizations Endorsing the Prepared Meals Tax
    * African American Dance Ensemble
    * American Tobacco Trail Group - Triangle Rails To Trails
    * Board of Trustees of the Carolina Theatre of Durham Incorporated
    * Cultural Master Plan Advisory Board
    * Downtown Durham, Inc.
    * Duke Chronicle
    * Durham Appearance Advocacy Group
    * Durham Arts Council
    * Durham Art Guild
    * Durham Central Park, Inc.
    * Durham Civic Center Authority
    * Durham County Stadium Authority
    * Durham Open Space and Trails Commission
    * Durham Savoyards
    * Durham Tourism Development Authority
    * (DCVB Governing Board)
    * Durham Workforce Development Board
    * Eno River Association Board of Directors
    * Friends of Durham
    * Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
    * Herald-Sun
    * Independent Weekly
    * InterNeighborhood Council
    * Keep Durham Beautiful
    * Museum of Durham History Steering Committee
    * Museum of Life and Science
    * New Hope Creek Advisory Board
    * Parrish Street Advocacy Group
    * People's Alliance
    * Preservation Durham
    * Spectacular Magazine
    * St. Joseph's Historic Foundation/Hayti Heritage Center

Future Museum of Durham History Takes Next Step

A Museum of Durham History surfaced more than 15 years ago as the 
most frequently mentioned cultural priority. Last week, planners took 
a key step by electing an initial board of directors.

But voting tallied November 4th on the penny meals tax referendum 
will determine just how quickly the community's #1 
cultu<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1018512314&msgid=30890233&act=6VHD&c=53913&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dcvb-nc.com%2Fcomm%2Fenews%2FVol8Issue15%2Fmuseum_lg.jpg>
[]
ral facility becomes a reality.

The mission of the Museum of Durham History is to make the stories of 
Durham's past available to the local community and its visitors and 
encourage people to appreciate the captivating richness of Durham's history.

An ongoing advisory group, formed to plan the museum, announced the 
filing of formal papers and election of the facility's inaugural 
three-person board of directors:
An ongoing advisory group, formed to plan the museum, announced the 
filing of formal papers and election of the facility's inaugural 
three-person board of directors:
    * Jane Goodridge - Past Chair of Preservation 
Durham,<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1018512314&msgid=30890233&act=6VHD&c=53913&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.durhamstuff.com>
    DurhamStuff.com's Item of the Week

    * Barker French - Cultural Master Plan committee liaison, and
    * Tom Krakauer -  President Emeritus of the Museum of Life & Science.

Feasibility for the facility was confirmed in a report by Riggs-Ward 
earlier in the year, following up on recommendations by cultural 
master planning consultants in 2004.

While Durham is rich with cultural facilities including: 30 historic 
sites and landmarks, 20 cultural festivals, 3 art museums, more than 
20 galleries, 32 public sculptures, a sculpture foundry, 13 nature 
places, 8 science centers, 27 nationally or regionally-acclaimed 
restaurants, 14 performance spaces, scores of performing groups, and 
7 spectator sports venues, it is the only major community in the 
state without a history museum.

<http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1018512314&msgid=30890233&act=6VHD&c=53913&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.durhamartwalk.com%2F>
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Durham News Service is a service of the Durham Convention &

Ellen Dagenhart
President, Board of Directors
Preservation Durham
http://preservationdurham.org/

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Check it out! http://www.durham-nc.com/www.wheregreatthingshappen.com
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