Chesterfield is pursuing special state legislation that would let the city impose a tax on hotel stays, after the City Council voted 4-0 on Monday, June 1, to advance a Transient Guest Tax Whitepaper.

The Finance & Administration Committee, chaired by Councilmember Barbara McGuinness of Ward I, recommended the item with the same unanimous vote before it went to the full council at City Hall, 690 Chesterfield Parkway West. Mayor Dan Hurt presided over the meeting; City Administrator Mike Geisel reported.

The whitepaper's full contents, including any proposed tax rate or revenue projections, have not been released publicly. Its title references a "special legislation alternative," which under Missouri law (RSMo 67.1000) would mean seeking an act from the General Assembly. State statute limits cities that don't already qualify under existing thresholds to imposing a transient guest tax only with legislative authorization. Any hotel tax would also require voter approval and could not exceed 5% per occupied room per night.

The vote comes amid ongoing tension over the Downtown Chesterfield Special Business District. On Monday, May 4, Mayor Hurt broke a 4-4 tie to force Drury Development Corporation's hotel properties into the SBD, which is authorized to levy up to $0.85 per $100 of assessed value on parcels within the $2 billion Downtown Chesterfield redevelopment area. A May 18 vote to reconsider that expansion failed.

"When you put us in the district, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. This is going to cost us millions of dollars. It's not right," Tim Drury, president of Drury Development Corporation, told the council on May 4.

Drury's properties at 355 and 333 Chesterfield Center East represent just 4% of the SBD's total area but account for 20% of its assessed revenue, according to figures cited at the April 21 public hearing. That share could climb to 59% by 2030 when improvement values are added to assessments.

The transient guest tax would be a separate revenue mechanism from the SBD assessment. Together, the two tools signal the city is building a broader revenue strategy around its hospitality properties as the Downtown Chesterfield redevelopment moves forward.

The council's next meeting is Monday, June 15, at 7:00 p.m. No date has been set for the Finance & Administration Committee's next session on the whitepaper.