JERRY FINK
MANAGING EDITOR
District 2 County Commissioner Monty Grider was left scratching his head at the failure of a proposal that authorized the county to levy and assess a lodging tax of fivepercent.
He can’t figure out why a proposal that would have had no financial impact on local voters would be rejected.
Non-residents, who don’t pay for the services the county offers when they stay here, are the ones who would have paid for the tax.
To help him clear up the confusion he invites anyone who voted against the lodging tax to contact him and explain whatever objection they may have.
Perhaps he can address the objections in the next county lodging tax proposal.
“I’m really disappointed,” Grider said. “We are trying to help out the folks in McIntosh County.”
The majority of the county voters in the March 5 preferential primary and special election rejected Grider’s offer of help.
Unofficial results posted by the Oklahoma State Election Board show that 1,399 voters said no to 1,188 yes votes, 54.08 percent to 45.92 percent.
The lodging tax would have been assessed on facilities outside the city limits of Eufaula and Checotah, including hotels, motels, yurts, shortterm overnight rentals, resorts, cabins, recreational vehicle spots and bed & breakfasts.
Checotah doesn’t have a lodging tax, but Eufaula has a nine percent levy. It collected $166,000 in the past year.
Grider said had it passed, 50 percent of the tax would have been used for public safety. Of that amount, 25 percent would have gone to deputy sheriffs, 25 percent to jailers, 25 percent to dispatchers and 25 percent to rural fire departments.
Of the remaining 50 percent of the lodging taxes collected, 25 percent would have gone towards marketing Mc-Intosh County to attract more visitors – this included an anti-litter initiative – and 25 percent would have gone to the county government.
Grider said the county is strapped for cash.
“Our budget is stretched to the limit. Budgets for emergency services are stretched. We are just looking for ways to help our dispatchers, jailers, deputies, firefighters and others,” Grider said.
He urged anyone against the proposal to contact him with their input.
“Let us know what your thoughts are,” he said.
Grider is thinking ahead, hoping to revise the lodging tax to be voted on in either a special election or the general election in the fall.
“I would really like to know what peoples’ thoughts are. Maybe we need to change the language, simplify it. Or change the way the money is spent,” he said.
Though disappointed, he’s ready to start work on another proposal.
“I learned a lot from this experience. We need to do a little more research. But we’ve got to do something to get these folks who come to the county and take advantage of our services without paying for them,” he said.
