ST. CLOUD - A plan to raise the local taxes in St. Cloud will have to wait until at least the next state legislative session.

State Representative Tama Theis and State Senator Jerry Relph introduced a bill this session that would have allowed the city to increase the food and beverage tax by up to one-half percent, and increase the lodging tax by up to one percent. However, the bill failed to get a hearing in either chamber.

Theis says the bill will carry over to the next session. But, she says she got a lot of push back from local organizations like the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. She says she's hoping those groups and St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis can get together on an agreement before the next session.

Neither local tax has been raised since 1986.

The money collected from the food and beverage tax and the lodging tax is used to fund city facilities like the River's Edge Convention Center, the Municipal Athletic Complex, the Paramount Theatre, and Munsinger/Clemens Gardens.

The city wants to increase the tax to make upgrades to the MAC and the Convention Center.

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