ANAHEIM : Hotel Loses Bid to Have Fee Set Aside

The City Council has denied a hotel’s request that a $34,121 late fee for payment of monthly hotel tax receipts be forgiven.

The Anaheim Hilton and Towers missed the deadline for payment of its November transient occupancy tax revenues by two days.

“Mayor, they’ve been caught,” Councilman Irv Pickler said Tuesday during the hotel’s appeal and after Mayor Fred Hunter proposed that the fee be dismissed. “That is money due the city, and we could use it.”

The fee was charged after the city received the hotel’s November payment, due Dec. 31, 1990, on Jan. 2. The penalty represents 10% of the total November payment.

Hotel representative Nacine Nakakihara told the council Tuesday that the hotel dated the check for payment Dec. 21 but because of problems in the hotel’s mail room and confusion generated by the holiday rush, the payment was not delivered on time.

Tuesday’s council vote marked the second time the council denied a dismissal of the Hilton late charge. The appeal was scheduled for a second hearing when Nakakihara said she was forced to leave a February council session before presenting the hotel’s case because of the sudden death of her boss.