UPDATE: Friday, February 10, 2012

Many Wichita voters are confused after unsuccessfully trying to decipher the ballot question on a hotel tax. The special election doesn't take place until Feb. 28th, but thousands of advance ballots are already in the hands of voters.

What's baffling voters is the wording on the ballot. It's the technical, legalese way the question is written that has many voters scratching their heads. Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman say her office is getting calls from confused voters looking for help.

"I think people are just trying to understand what the question is so they understand how they should vote," said Lehman.

Lehman says she and her employees must remain non-partisan in explaining the ballot. Because of that, she admits she often doesn't answer the voters' questions.

City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf says the Kansas Constitution requires the lengthy wording to the question.

"So that's why we have to have the language that we do," said Rebenstorf.

The question it has to do with the redevelopment project at the southeast corner of Douglas and Broadway. Developers of the Ambassador Hotel are asking for city help in building the $22.5 million project. The city is proposing using the hotel guest tax that visitors pay while staying at Wichita to help pay for the hotel.

A yes vote means for the next 15 years, 75 percent of the tax paid by visitors would be used to rebate development costs for the Ambassador Hotel. A no vote rejects the proposal. With a no vote, the guest tax would still be collected, but it would continue to be used for solely for Wichita tourism. The outcome of the election will not change the tax bill for Wichitans.

Friday, February 10, 2012

On Friday, City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf offered a clarification of the wording on the special election ballot question regarding Charter Ordinance 216. The Feb. 28 special election asks voters whether Ambassador Hotel developers should be allowed to use bed tax funds for 15 years to help build their $22.5 million downtown project.

The special election will give voters the opportunity to approve (Yes) or deny (No) whether developers should receive a 75 percent rebate of guest tax revenues collected from visitors staying at the Ambassador Hotel. Developers would be allowed to collect the rebate for 15 years for costs associated with redeveloping the hotel.

The remaining 25 percent of the collected guest tax would be used to promote local tourism. If approved by voters, after the hotel has operated for 15 years, the rebate would end and guest tax revenues would be used to promote tourism within the city.

City ordinances allow a guest tax of six percent to be collected for all hotel rooms within the City. The guest tax, known also the bed tax, is used by the City to pay debt obligations for downtown hotels, convention centers and to promote tourism. The Feb. 28 special election will not change the assessment or the collection of the six percent guest tax.

Many voters have voiced concerns over the detailed wording of the question, saying it confusing. The wording of the ballot question follows guidelines mandated by the Kansas Constitution.

A "Yes" means the City will give Ambassador Hotel developers 75 percent of the guest tax collected for 15 years. A "No" vote means the City will not reallocate the guest tax. Instead, the collected guest tax funds will be used to promote local tourism.

For more information about the special election, including advance voting, you can click the link below.