Gilmer County’s hotel/motel/lodging tax will be moving from 5 percent to 8 percent following a second vote of the board of commissioners.
The board voted to to ask Speaker David Ralston to introduce a local bill raising the lodging tax in Gilmer County, at a special called meeting Jan. 24. It was similar to a vote held Dec. 21, but this time the board filled in some details.
“The other counties around us are going to 8 percent, so that isn’t going to hurt us,” said Gilmer County Chair Charlie Paris at the Dec. 21 meeting. “It almost seems if we don’t do it, we are walking away from money.”
As far as most guests are concerned, it should be an extra $8 to $9 on their bill, Paris said previously.
County Attorney David Clark told commissioners they needed to submit the request to Ralston by Feb. 16 to have it passed this session.
He presented a model to the commissioners showing three funnels for the collected revenue: 37.5 percent would go to the county’s general fund and be unrestricted; 43.75 percent would go to the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce; and the final 18.75 percent would have to be spent on tourism product development.
A motion made by Post Commissioner Hubert Parker designated the chamber to receive 45 percent of the collected revenue. This would reduce the protion for tourism product development to 17.5 percent.
Parker also designated tourism product development to include parks and recreation facilties and signage.
During 2021 the county’s share of the lodging tax was $550,000. The chamber received 70 percent and the county received 30 percent of the 5 percent lodging tax, said Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jennifer Grimmer.
Estimating the county’s revenue using the 8 percent lodging tax and with the chamber percentage dropping to 45 percent, Gilmer County would receive an estimated $1.6 million, she said. Roughly $500,000 would go toward tourism product development.
Commissioner were in consensus much of this revenue would be used for the county pool.
Grimmer stressed she was not advocating the change, but was a resource for the county and towns.
“The chamber will not benefit in any way from this increase and in fact will have less tax income and more restrictions, which the chamber feels is fair and timely given the increase of short-term rentals in Gilmer County,” said Gilmer County Chamber President and CEO Jennifer Grimmer. “To be clear, the chamber is not asking for increased funding. The chamber supports getting a far less percentage of the lodging tax and is happy to work with the county on those details going forward.”