NIU students will be forced to spend more money for a night on the town beginning July 1.

DeKalb’s restaurant, bar and liquor store sales tax will be raised from 7 to 9 percent to replace revenue lost due to state mandated sales tax reforms.

NIU students and staff spend $12.8 million in restaurants and bars in DeKalb County, according to a study done by the NIU center for governmental studies.

NIU students make up about 35 percent of DeKalb’s population, according to a 1988 city of DeKalb community profile.

State sales tax reforms eliminated local taxes on food and drugs effective Sept. 1, 1991, said DeKalb City Manager Mark Stevens.

Although students might be unhappy with the tax, “this system is better than the current tax on food and drugs. Everyone needs these items and I feel it is wrong,” said 6th Ward Alderman Jamie Pennington.

“It’s better to tax luxuries (such as restaurant meals and liquor sales) than necessities,” Pennington said.

“The revenue lost for the coming fiscal year from state sales tax reforms is estimated at $300,000,” Stevens said.

On Sept. 1 the local sales tax on car sales will be removed and will cost the city $85,000.

“The other purpose of additional revenue was to assist with the funding of additional city positions throughout the organization,” he said.

Eleven full-time and two part-time positions were added to the city’s staff. These include three new police officers, an assistant director to the building and community services and a part-time animal control officer.

New employees are essential to continuing existing city services, Stevens said.

“We’ve reached the point where the same number of people can’t provide the same level of services they could two years ago or three years ago,” he said.

“If we don’t add additional personnel we’re going to experience service cuts because services have been added, grown or expanded. Or the demand for those services has increased,” Stevens said.

“I’m not really comfortable with creating new taxes, but it’s better than the alternative of cutting police and fire protection or city services like snow plowing,” Pennington said.