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Roane County signs analytics contract to identify short‑term rentals; assessor expects new revenue
Summary
The commission approved a contract with Deckard Technologies to locate and document short‑term rentals (Airbnb-style units). The assessor’s office expects an initial $5,000 purchase with projected revenue gains; county officials cited recovered revenue from properties previously recorded in adjacent counties.
The Roane County Commission approved a contract with Deckard Technologies Inc. to provide analytics and technology solutions to identify short‑term rental properties in the county.
Commissioner Wilson, who moved the motion, said the program had been discussed for months and called the contract "something I've wanted to see come to fruition for a while." The initial, basic service will cost $5,000 and county staff said it is an a‑la‑carte pilot to find properties that are not currently listed or that have incorrect jurisdictional records.
Staff and commissioners described the expected returns: the assessor’s office currently recognizes 14 short‑term rental units that are correctly reporting revenue; preliminary outreach identified roughly 31 visible listings and staff estimated as many as 250 potential unreported or mis‑reported units countywide. Officials said an immediate improvement — resolving listings that had been assigned to an adjacent county (Meigs County) because of zip‑code issues — could bring roughly $40,000 in additional revenue back to Roane County; longer‑term recovery numbers discussed at the meeting ranged higher if the program captures more listings.
The measure passed with a recorded motion (moved by Commissioner Wilson, seconded by Commissioner Henderson) and the clerk recorded the motion as carried 15‑0. The assessor’s office and tourism officials said recovered tax revenue would generally flow to tourism and related local services; staff also said assessments on certain short‑term rentals may be adjusted to a different assessment percentage when discovered.
