Orange County hotel tax sets a $30.6 million September record

Orange County's 6% tax on hotel room nights and short-term stays brought in $30.6 million in September, up 17.8% from a year earlier and the highest September on record, Comptroller Phil Diamond said, Florida Politics reported Nov. 5. Collections for the year grew 7.5%, also a record, but Diamond said that was "just below the 8% rate used by Orange County in its recent financial modeling" for new commitments of the tax. August had dipped 3% to $24.8 million.

Why it matters: on Oct. 19 commissioners voted 6-1 to commit hotel tax money to projects including a $350 million expansion of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, so growth under the county's assumption is the number to watch.