Proposed lodging tax has commissioners unsettled

WINSTON COUNTY - A proposed lodging tax for Winston County did not get off the ground at the Winston County Commission’s Tuesday, Jan. 21, meeting, when action on the tax failed due to a disagreement among commissioners over how the tax proceeds will be divided.
Commission Chairman David Cummings, reading from the commission agenda, called for a motion to approve supporting a resolution regarding local legislation to have a county lodging tax.
Commissioner for District 1 Rutger Hyche, who had drafted the proposed legislation, made the motion, but when Cummings called for a second to the motion, there was silence.
“The motion fails for a lack of a second,” Cummings said.
After the last item was approved on the agenda, Hyche asked Cummings, “Mr. chairman, back on (agenda item) number nine, are you not going to vote on that?”

Cummings responded, “I am not going to second it today, no, I am not.”
“A lot of work needs to be done on it,” added Commissioner for District 2 Roger Hayes, to which Cummings agreed.
“A lot of work needs to be done to it, and I am not ready to second that today,” Cummings stated.
Hyche met with the Alabamian after the meeting, stating he had been working on drafting a resolution supporting a lodging tax since last year.
“Two years ago, when I was running for office, I talked about generating revenue for Winston County.  Now, being in office for close to two years, I have seen ways we could generate revenue,” Hyche began.
“A lodging tax, in my mind, is the best thing for the people of Winston County because it is not a tax burden for the people of Winston County,” Hyche added.
According to a copy of the draft document, to authorize Winston County to levy a lodging tax and to provide for the collection of the tax and the distribution of proceeds from the tax, the county commission would levy a privilege or license tax upon every person, firm, or corporation engaging in the business of renting or furnishing any room or rooms, lodging or accommodations to those who stay in any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin or any other place where rooms, lodging or accommodations are regularly furnished.
“The amount of the tax shall be equal to 10 percent of the charge for the rooms, lodgings or accommodations, including the charge for use or rental of personal property and services furnished in the room,” the draft document states.
However, the distribution of the tax proceeds, once collected and outlined in the draft document between districts 1 and 2,  has become a source of disagreement among commissioners.
The draft document outlines that 55 percent of the collected lodging tax would go to road and bridge improvements in the county, distributed to districts based on the percentage of lodging facilities located in each district.  Currently, the vast majority of properties that would be subject to the tax are in District 1.
20 percent to the sheriff for law enforcement purposes in the county;
14 percent to a fund created by the county commission for use in promoting tourism;
Five percent to those volunteer fire departments with coverage area and a station physically located in the county, to be distributed equally among those fire departments;
1 percent to those volunteer fire departments with coverage area and no station physically located in the county, to be distributed equally among those fire departments;
Five percent to the Winston County general fund--each of these points according to the draft document.
“I wrote this bill because I see the major issues within Winston County are definitely road and bridge infrastructure issues as the top priority,” Hyche pointed out.
“Then funding for the sheriff’s office,” Hyche added. “A couple of years ago, the sheriff lost all of his revenue generated off pistol permit funds, so this is another way to supplement that.
“We’ve got to start looking ahead,” Hyche continued. “I put in here the promotion of tourism funds. We’ve got to start looking at ways of investing in Winston County to draw more people here.
“We have to embrace the fact that Lewis Smith Lake is bringing in a lot of people and it has the potential to bring in a lot of this revenue for Winston County as a whole,” Hyche noted.
“In order to bring them here, we are going to have to build public facilities.  Also with Smith Lake booming like it is, it is putting a strain on our volunteer fire departments.  That is why I did five percent to all volunteer fire departments because they as a whole are running three times the medical calls they were running three years ago, and it is putting a strain on resources,” Hyche continued.
Hyche stressed that many volunteer fire departments in the county are not generating any revenue.
“We also have a few fire departments that have split coverage areas that come into Winston County that help us, so we’re willing to help them,” Hyche stated.
“This is a way to generate revenue for the people of Winston County, to put that revenue towards issues that I hear most from my constituents throughout Winston County.  I really hope I can get the other two commissioners’ support on this bill and leave the wording the way it is,” Hyche emphasized.
“I believe splitting the money up between the lodging facilities in each district will allow us not only to focus on issues in that district, but to invest more money,” Hyche explained.
“We have got to start looking ahead. We can’t keep living in the past,” he added. “I believe this legislation would definitely move Winston County forward.”
Hyche urged any constituents in agreement with this to contact the other two commissioners to voice their opinion.
“I am hoping we can come to an agreement and get it passed for the betterment of Winston County,”  Hyche stressed.
“I feel like we as a commission don’t need to be holding up the constituents of Winston County from being able to voice their opinion. They ought to have a right to voice their opinion on this bill.”
The first step toward making the bill a law is for the commission to approve it.   The bill will then go before the state House and Senate, each of which must approve it, so it can return to Winston County to be voted on by county voters, who will determine its ultimate fate, officials explained.   
“It’s up to the Winston County Commission to  pass resolutions that are for the county,” stated State Representative Tim Wadsworth.
“Nothing comes to us (at the state level) unless it’s approved,” Wadsworth explained. “It would have to pass the House and Senate.”
Wadsworth clarified that he did not have any involvement in drafting the proposed lodging tax bill.
Hyche estimated that the east side of the county has118  rental properties.
“These numbers are just rough figures, but at 118 rental properties at $200 per night for 125 nights a year, at the 10 percent rate that I am proposing as a tax for these lodging facilities,  it would generate an additional $295,000 a year,” Hyche said.
The 118 figure Hyche estimated was from properties in district 1.
“That number is going to fluctuate,” he continued, adding there are Air B&Bs, as well as B&Bs in the county that are not figured into that equation.

Commissioners
disagree on proposed lodging tax

Hayes and Cummings spoke out as to why they do not agree with the proposed lodging tax bill as it was drafted.
“When Rutger came to us, he told us about it,and said it would not be a burden on the taxpayers, which I like that,” Hayes began, adding he also did not disagree with how the tax proceeds would be divided for the various entities.
Due to the estimated number of lodging properties on the east side at 118 versus the quoted number of one for the west side, that would put the percentage of the east side or district 1 receiving 99 percent of the lodging tax proceeds that will be divided for road and bridge improvements, leaving only one percent for the west side or district 2, Hayes explained.
“Right now, Haleyville doesn’t have a hotel or a motel, but we have Air B&Bs over here.  He said most of the money is going to come out of the east side.”
Hayes said he informed Hyche the division of tax proceeds between districts 1 and 2 was not fair and that the districts had always divided up roadway funds at 54 percent for the east side or district 1, versus 46 percent for district 2 or the west, due to the number of roads in each district.
“What I don’t respect is Hyche did not say anything about it, but waited until after the commission meeting then aired it out on Facebook,” Hayes emphasized.
“If he thinks Facebook is going to change my mind, I don’t care.  I am not the chairman now. I am the district commissioner and I am looking out for my side,” Hayes continued. “Why didn’t he air it out at the county commission meeting?”
Hyche reportedly uploaded a video to his county commissioner Facebook page regarding the lodging tax after the commission meeting.
“The people on the west side are not going to vote for that tax because we all have to vote on it.  I am looking out for my district, too.  I don’t see us spending money on having an election that’s going to fail because it is definitely going to fail if it stays like that.
“I came in there to work with these guys,” Hayes continued. “I didn’t come in there to feud and fight over this type of thing, but I am not to be run over and I don’t want my district to be run over.  I am not going to be bullied around and I am not going to be taken advantage of.   I am going to do it right, if I am going to do it.”
Hayes noted he planned to send the proposed bill to the Association of County Commissions for review.
“There is nothing fair about this,” Hayes concluded. “It is totally out of line. It is unreasonable. It’s going to be worked out on a 54/46 scale or it’s not going to work. It’s that simple.”
Cummings added, “As an elected official, I took an oath to represent both districts and I cannot support such an imbalance.
Cummings figured  the county would have brought in $439,064, had the lodging tax been in place in 2024.

Cummings
concerned over fire
departments only getting five percent

“I have had a lot of phone calls and a lot of concerns. Fire departments, sheriff’s department, road and bridge and tourism is how I have the most important (items in) this bill,” Cummings stated.
Cummings emphasized he did not agree with fire departments only receiving five percent of the lodging tax proceeds.
“The fire departments are the backbone of our communities,” Cummings stressed. “There is no way I will support this bill, with the local fire departments only receiving five percent. There is no way.
“This is the time for Winston County to move forward and bring in a great tax to Winston County that the citizens are not paying for,  but this is also a great time for us to help our local fire departments, sheriff’s office, and road and bridge and tourism,” Cummings continued,  “but with fire departments only having five percent that needs to be adjusted before I will vote on a bill to go to the citizens to vote on.
“I believe the funding allocation should remain fair and based on road mileage, 46 percent for the west side, 54 percent for the east side. That would ensure that both sides of the county are treated equally,” Cummings said.