CROWN POINT | The Lake County Council delayed a vote on a proposed 1 percent tax on food and beverage sales in the face of sharp opposition by anti-tax activists and the county's tourism director.

Council President Larry Blanchard said Tuesday he will announce a date for a public hearing.

Councilman Thomas O'Donnell, D-Dyer, and two colleagues would enact the tax and commit the $6 million it could generate to create a countywide public bus system to replace the municipal services hurt by state-mandated property tax cuts.

The other four council members said they need more information and time. A tax needs four council votes for adoption and five to overcome a promised veto by the Board of Commissioners.

Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority Chairman Leigh Morris and Regional Bus Authority Executive Director Tim Brown said letting public bus service collapse would force many riders into unemployment.

They argue the new tax would trigger a regional bus consolidation that would increase efficiency and ridership.

South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Speros Batistatos said only 1 percent of the county's households use the current services. He distributed a new public transit study indicating there is no evidence to support talk of increasing ridership.

Batistatos said the tax would result in restaurant closings and 180 lost jobs. "This tax is a job eliminator."

Crown Point Mayor David Uran and Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor said a new tax would punish their residents in the midst of an economic downturn.