The prospect of a Lodi Winery Business Improvement District — and a 1.5% tax on wine to pay for it — moved closer Tuesday.
The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors agreed to a final public hearing on the issue Nov. 18. At that time, it will take a vote. If approved, the tax would go into effect Jan. 1.
The plan presented this week was basically the same as it was brought to the board last month.
One tweak dropped the inclusion of a handful of Sacramento County wineries in the district. Since all have been opposed to being included, the move increases the percentage of wineries in favor even though supporters say they had already easily cleared the 50% threshold needed for the plan.
Another was to add a representative of Lodi’s tourism promotion group, Visit Lodi, to the district’s governing board. The rationale for the district is to promote Lodi, situated in the top wine grape growing region in the state, as a destination for wine fanciers.
“Our main goal is to expand our customer base, ” said Stuart Spencer, executive director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission. “This is an economic development tool.”
But the winery community still isn’t unanimous in its support.
The drive for the improvement district discriminates against smaller wineries, said Rachele Spaletta of Intercoastal Winery. Customers will object to having to pay a higher tax to support a marketing campaign. Plus, she added, she fears the rate won’t stay at 1.5%, but will creep higher.
Tom Hoffman of Heritage Oak Winery also expressed concerns about customer pushback.
“I am concerned about the reaction to an increase in sales tax by our customers,” he said.