Lodging Tax Increase Fails

   A lodging tax increase that was supposed to create an influx of one million dollars into the city’s budget failed to pass at last night’s Montgomery City Council meeting. After a discussion of the measure, including pushback from the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association, the vote was 4 to 4 with one abstention. Mayor Todd Strange maintains the lodging tax hike is a fair way to generate revenue. After the lodging tax measure failed, a vote on the budget was delayed until the council’s next meeting on September 19.