ST. PETERS • A proposed 2 percent tax on hotel room charges in St. Peters is the only ballot issue that will be decided throughout the metro area at Tuesday's presidential primary.

The measure, the third hotel tax proposal to go before city voters in the past decade, has stirred little campaign activity so far. Voters in November 2010 rejected a proposal for a higher 5 percent tax.

Mayor Len Pagano, a main advocate of the tax, said Tuesday's proposal would raise about $200,000 annually.

He said it would be used to pay costs related to tourism such as maintaining the city's RecPlex - which sometimes hosts regional events - and the new Lakeside 370 Park and its RV parking area.

He said the only pre-election activity he's aware of is the information on the proposal included in the city's quarterly magazine mailed to 22,000 households and businesses.

While stopping short of specifically advocating a "yes" vote, the magazine says the tax "will help keep our parks a great spot for all our residents to enjoy" and keep user fees low for city residents.

Although the 2010 plan was rejected by voters, St. Peters did have a separate gross receipts tax on hotel rooms from mid-2004 through 2005 that had been approved in an election.  But the Legislature a few years ago effectively repealed that tax.