<< Back 6/19/02 Leave room tax alone, commissioners told Tourism supporters plead case before county board By Scott McLeod Haywood County Commissioner Bill Noland suggested a couple of weeks ago that the county might want to consider diverting room tax revenues into the general fund. At a commissioners’ meeting this week, tourism supporters lined up to warn him that such a move would be a mistake. “Don’t touch that money. If you do in any way, you are going to hurt small businesses,” said Sue Koziol, an accommodations owner in Maggie Valley. Last year the 3-percent tax on rooms in hotels, motels, vacation rentals and bed and breakfasts raised $620,413. The majority of the money goes to the Tourism Development Authority while part is divided between the Haywood Chamber of Commerce, the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Canton Papertown Association. All of it is used to promote tourism, mostly through the purchase of advertising. The county collects the money and takes a 6-percent collection fee, but otherwise does not get any of the money. Noland, during a budget workshop, suggested the county might want to look at how the money is used and consider whether all of the room tax should remain in the hands of tourist groups. Bob Hill, the director of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce, said the money is vital to helping the local economy thrive. Indirectly, getting people to the county is the reason the county is able to reap so much money from the property taxes it levies, said Hill. “People come to our office for materials, and then a couple of days later they are coming and asking for relocation information,” said Hill. “If you take a little bit from something, then you can hurt it a lot,” he said. Noland listened to the speakers, but he refused to back down on his earlier statement. “I am very interested in tourism, but as an elected official I’m interested in looking into all revenue sources and seeing that the dollars are spent wisely. I do intend to look into what money comes in and how it’s spent. It’s not off the table as far as I’m concerned,” said Noland. He also suggested that tourism provides low-paying jobs that often pay less than minimum wage, and that many people still call him and say they don’t get any benefits from tourists. “I think we’ve got an education problem,” said Noland. To change the method in which the money is distributed would require a special act of the General Assembly. Scotty Ellis, the director of the TDA, told commissioners that tourism for the year is down about 2 percent. The state Department of Commerce says tourism is a $100 million industry in Haywood County, but she also said she is trying to amass information about its impact on other local businesses. “Hoteliers pay plumbers and electrician’s to do work, and those aren’t low-paying jobs,” Ellis said. Later in the meeting, county Economic Development Commission Director Jay Hinson also praised tourism, saying other sectors of the economy are simply not faring well right now. “I’d like to tell the TDA thanks for bringing in the tourists. Really, I guess tourism is kind of the salvation for our economy right now,” he said.