The County of Lancaster has sued three hotels for nonpayment of the county's hotel tax.

On July 31, county solicitors filed lawsuits against the owners of the Lancaster Host Resort, 2300 Lincoln Highway East, in East Lampeter Township, and the Rodeway Inn, 3127 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise. On Aug. 2, the county sued the former owner of the Paradise Motor Lodge, 3320 Lincoln Highway East, Paradise.

According to the complaints, the Lancaster Host Resort owes $33,305 in unpaid hotel taxes from February, March and June, 2012, plus interest and penalty fees.

The Rodeway Inn owes $12,190 in unpaid taxes from 2010 and 2011, according to the complaint. Through the first six months of 2012, the hotel has neither paid its taxes nor submitted the required monthly reports to the county showing what it owes in taxes, the complaint asserts.

The complaint against the Paradise Motor Lodge asserts that the hotel has neither paid taxes nor submitted a monthly report since June 2010. That property was put up for auction last week, but did not sell.

Tax liens were also filed against all three properties.

County solicitor Crystal Clark said that the county is preparing to file one more lawsuit, possibly as soon as this week.

The last time the county sued a hotel for nonpayment of taxes was 2008, when it filed a complaint against the former Holiday Inn at 521 Greenfield Road, alleging the hotel owners owed $38,747 in unpaid hotel taxes.

Previously, the county filed one lawsuit in 2007, five in 2003, two in 2001 and one in 2000.

County Treasurer Craig Ebersole, in an email, said the amount owed by the Host Resort "is a seemingly large number simply because they are the largest facility (by room count) in our county, thus they get to a larger number more quickly than others."

Ebersole said the Host Resort's delinquency resulted from "A failure by the out-of-state corporate headquarters to authorize the local hotel to make payment, and failure of the out-of-state corporate headquarters office to communicate to us when we could expect payment."

The hotel has paid about $26,000 for its June taxes, but has not paid February or March taxes.

Ebersole said the lawsuit against the Paradise Motor Lodge was prompted, in part, by its potential sale, as the amount of back taxes it owes likely amounts to very little. "It has been, and continues to remain, the contention of the Paradise Motor Lodge that they no longer operate as a lodging facility, but rather as a facility with rooms to rent, not unlike apartment units within an apartment building. We contend otherwise. The court will now decide."

Prior to filing the recent lawsuits, Ebersole said the county had "ongoing conversations" with representatives of all three properties, including the possibility that the county would go to court if the taxes weren't paid.

Ebersole said the county is currently in payment discussions with two other facilities; "should they continue to fail to meet their financial obligations, lawsuits may result."

The county's hotel tax ordinance provides for a late payment fee at a rate of 9 percent annually, or .75 percent monthly on unpaid tax bills.

The lawsuit against the Host names as defendants Hospitality Associates of Lancaster L.P., Milestone Hospitality Management, Milestone Lancaster Management, LLC, Harry Stevens, who is general manager of the hotel, and Brendan Ratley, corporate controller for Milestone Hospitality Management, in Baltimore.

Stevens did not return a phone message and email message seeking comment.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit involving the Rodeway Inn are Panchwati Group LLC and Sunil Patel. Patel initially returned a reporter's phone call and left a message; a second call to Patel was not returned.

The lawsuit involving the Paradise Motor Lodge names Aswin Group LLC and Thiruvalam P. Indira as defendants. A message to Indira left with the attorney handling the auction of the property, Linda Kling, was not returned by the owner.

Although the property did not sell at auction, Kling said the owner is in negotiations with a potential buyer.

County solicitor Crystal Clark said the county filed a lien against the property, in part, "to protect our interest. Otherwise, the change in ownership would have presented a potential impediment to our recovery."

Hard to figure
The county's hotel tax consists of two separate levies: a 1.1 percent excise tax, which goes to the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau to market the county to potential visitors; and a 3.9 percent room tax, which supports the Lancaster County Convention Center. Previously, 20 percent of room tax revenues also went to the visitors bureau; the convention center began taking all the revenue when its bond reserves fell below the level mandated by its lender.

The issue of delinquent hotel taxes became a political issue last year when the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau filed a right-to-know request with the county. The bureau sought information from the treasurer's office on room taxes paid and occupancy rates at individual county hotels.

Statistics reported by a leading lodging industry analyst showed that county room tax revenues should have been higher; among other things, bureau officials wondered how widespread delinquencies were.

Higher revenues would have strengthened the convention center's financial position, though probably not enough to stave off the center's taking of all room tax revenues.

County Treasurer Ebersole informed county hoteliers about the bureau's request; the ensuing outcry prompted the bureau to withdraw its request.

But in February, the Sunday News filed a similar right-to-know request, seeking information on occupancy rates and taxes paid by individual hotels from 2007 through 2011. The county initially denied the request, calling the information proprietary. The Sunday News appealed to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which in April ruled that the county must turn over the tax information. The office denied the newspaper's request for county statistics on the occupancy rates.

County hoteliers subsequently appealed the state decision to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. That case has not yet been heard.

Ebersole told the Sunday News in February that the county annually audits the largest properties and those that have had problems paying the tax on time. Smaller properties are audited every two to three years.

In June, Ebersole told the local website NewsLanc.com via email that "The number of delinquent facilities is less than ten, and totals less than $100,000….. we call them, visit them, and involve the county solicitor as needed … no one… is simply refusing to pay."

In late June, the Sunday News asked Ebersole if he would provide information on those 10 properties; he deferred to the county solicitor.

Clark, in an email, said the county does not want to release the information, as "the ongoing dispute over whether the information on the tax reports is confidential and proprietary in nature, which I understand is still an open issue. ... If we provide the delinquency information, and the hotelier is only, say a month behind, on their remittance, we wind up in the same place we were on the request pending in the Court of Common Pleas.

However, said treasurer Ebersole in his email, the three cases already filed, the case that may be filed this week, and the two other properties that are in talks "are the most egregious cases."

gsmart@lnpnews.com