I am writing in response to the citizen-initiative proposing a 5% Sales Tax on Prepared Food that will be on the November ballot. I am not a resident of Jacksonville, but I am very familiar with this type of funding mechanism, as I owned a restaurant in Ashland when an identical tax was placed before Ashland voters in 1993.

The proposed Sales Tax on Prepared Food (Meals Tax) in Jacksonville will go towards funding Police and the General Fund. The Ashland sales tax on prepared food was intended to pay for future parks development and sewage treatment improvements. In the end, the proponents of the Ashland sales tax convinced voters that visitors would pay the majority of the tax and the citizens of Ashland would reap the benefits of an expanded park system and a modern update for the sewage treatment plant.

However, the effect of the passage of the sales tax resulted in many customers from surrounding cities refusing to come and eat in Ashland. While this fact was largely anecdotal and difficult to prove; ask any number of restaurant owners today if they experienced a business slowdown as a result of the tax. The trouble is that many of those restaurants are gone. They went out of business in the years following the election.

The list of restaurants who are no longer doing business in Ashland is sad testimony to the fragile nature of the restaurant business. Who remembers Geppettos, Il Giardino, Guiseppe’s, Alex’s, Quinz, Firefly, Agave, Back Porch BBQ, Apple Cellar, Ciao Main, Monet, T’s, Ashland Bistro Café, Harper’s, Paddy Brannan’s, Beanery, Leo’s Campus Drive Inn, Manna from Heaven Bakery, Munchie’s, Northlight, Rebel’s, Theresa’s, Underground Deli, Hana Sushi, Chateaulin and Vic’s Mongolian BBQ? Sure, some of those businesses might have gone out of business anyway, but think about how long Jacksonville has maintained the core of its 14 small, family restaurants.

Can you imagine Jacksonville without the Jacksonville Inn, Bella Union, C Street Bistro, Gogi’s, Schoolhaus Brewhaus, La Fiesta, Onyx, Pony Espresso, Umi Sushi, Back Porch BBQ, Las Palmas, Good Bean and the Mustard Seed Café? The typical restaurant business operates on a small net profit of less than 7 cents of every dollar they collect…before taxes! Yet, these small business owners contribute much to the vitality and character of their communities, especially in a small town like Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville sales tax, just like the Ashland sales tax, unfairly singles out one small business sector to collect funds for the Police and General Fund that will ultimately benefit every business and citizen in Jacksonville. Everyone should be willing to pay their fair share through a $20 surcharge and support the program that offers relief for lower-income households.

In the end, communities are stronger when they put their oars in the water and row together, rather than expecting a small group of hardworking neighbors to put their family business at risk for the benefit of all.

Michael Donovan
Ashland, Oregon

Michael Donovan is an accomplished General Manager with decades of civic and business experience in Ashland and Southern Oregon. He is currently Managing Partner of his own consulting firm for the culinary and wine industry. In recent years, he has served as Managing Director at Irvine Roberts Winery, Managing Director at RoxyAnn Winery and owner of Chateaulin Restaurant & Wine Shop.

He has served as a Board Member for the Oregon Restaurant Association, the Southern Oregon Winery Association, the Oregon Wine Board, Oregon Wine Growers Association and the Asante Foundation. Additionally, he has served the community in leadership roles on the Ashland City Council, Rogue Valley Council of Governments, Ashland Chamber of Commerce, Ashland Community Association, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Southern Oregon Historical Society, Rotary International and more.