News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville City Council will consider approving an ordinance Thursday implementing a hotel-motel tax.
City Manager James Mills said the city could start collecting revenue from the tax as early as Sep. 1.
“We estimated this would bring a revenue of about $600,000,” Mills said. “It would add a three-percent to the current tax. The county has a current tax of seven percent, so it would be a total of ten percent tax on hotel-motel occupancy. It also applies to short-term rentals.”
If implemented, Mills said short-term rental owners and hotel operators would retain two-percent of the amount generated as compensation for collecting the tax.
State Representative Ryan Williams and Senator Paul Bailey helped pass legislation earlier this year to exempt Cookeville from the state’s hotel-motel tax collection policies.
All funds generated from the tax will go towards tourism and economic development within the city by state statute.
Council members will vote on the first-reading of the ordinance beginning at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. A second-reading of the ordinance could take place during the Council’s Aug. 1 meeting.
