County records $1M+ in hotel and motel taxes
Aug. 18—Cumberland County closed the books on the 2021-'22 fiscal year with record hotel-motel tax collections.
The county saw $1.2 million in taxes collected on hotel, motel and short-term rentals of homes and at campgrounds last year against a budget of $808,712.
"I believe that is the largest collection year that we've had," Nathan Brock, county finance director, said.
The county collected $872,000 in hotel-motel taxes in the 2020-'21 fiscal year, a rebound from the 2019-'20 fiscal year when COVID-19 halted a lot of travel during the summer. The county collected $688,600 that year, down from $833,900 in the 2018-'19 fiscal year.
A report from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development found tourists spent about $124 million in Cumberland County in 2020, a drop of 29% from the year before. However, the county was still 16th in the state for tourist spending that year.
Sales tax collections for the year are $13,775,928. That's $1,089,000 over budget.
July collections were about $1.3 million.
"We hope that that continues for 2022-'23," Brock said.
Updated numbers come out around the 20th of each month. Reported figures represent retail activity from two months before.
"These are not audited numbers, but it looks like what we're going to close the year with," Brock said.
The extra revenue from sales tax will roll into the school system's fund balance.
The commission has set a budget that anticipates a 12% increase in sales tax revenue next year, with additional collections anticipated from new retail businesses Buc-ee's and Chick-Fil-A. The commission has budgeted $15.6 million in sales tax revenue for the school system.
Brock said property tax collections were at 101% of the budgeted $24.1 million. The county figures a 5% delinquency rate in property tax collections each year — about $1.2 million last year.
"It looks like we're doing good estimates and good delinquency rates for that," Brock said.
The county's Emergency Medical Services department also exceeded its revenue projections with $4,497,731 against a budget of $4 million.
The commission increased the revenue projections for the department in the upcoming budget to $4.4 million.
The fiscal year began July 1. The department reported $322,176, which was below budget estimates by $44,491.
"That's the current number we have," Brock said. "Remember the July month we accrue into the prior year."
The county did not meet its budget projections in revenue for prisoner boarding, paid by the state to the county for housing state inmates.
The county budgeted $602,000 but collected $437,000.
"We missed that mark, but we had revenue in other areas that offset that," Brock said.
In other business, the county commission appointed John Doddroe as the county building maintenance supervisor.
Doddroe most recently worked for the Tennessee Department of Transportation as a construction operations technician. His duties included monitoring job sites, overseeing labor practices, examining constructions plans, and evaluating project quality. He held that position from July 2021 to present.
He worked for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation from April 2019-July 2021 in maintenance for Cumberland Trail State Park and Cumberland Mountain State Park. That role included maintenance and repair of plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems, building repairs, and facility and grounds maintenance.
He came to TDEC with 15 years' experience as a journeyman pipefitter from Norwalk, OH.
Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.
