Schuylkill treasurer reports on hotel tax dividends

Schuylkill County Treasurer Linda Marchalk’s vigilance in collecting the hotel tax is paying off for the county.

In November, the treasurer’s office collected $50,350 in hotel tax. After the meeting, Marchalk explained that the money funds several county entities, including the Schuylkill Visitors Bureau, the Schuylkill County Emergency Services Training Academy and the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation.

The hotel tax is levied on hotel, motel and bed-and-breakfast rooms. The county began collecting the tax at 3% in 2003, collecting $127,000 that year. In 2017, the commissioners approved raising the tax to 5%.

Marchalk said that the hotel tax revenue is the source of the county’s $50,000 per year contribution to the Emergency Services Training Academy, which offers comprehensive training in Fire, Safety and Industrial applications. The programs are accredited through the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and Bucks County Community College.

Marchalk said that online room reservation entities such as Airbnb now collect a room tax, which they are directed to send to the appropriate county. She said that the 2019 totals were boosted by the sale of the former Country Squire Motel, Schuylkill Haven, because the county was able to recover a $24,000 lien that had been placed against the property.