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Highlands board opens review of room-occupancy tax; stakeholders urged to join task force
Summary
At a Dec. 11 Highlands workshop, the mayor outlined proposals to update Macon County—s 1985 room-occupancy law and consider shifting from a 100% tourism-promotion model to a 2/3 promotion / 1/3 tourism-related allocation; the board agreed to form a stakeholder task force but took no formal votes on tax changes.
The Highlands Town Board held a Dec. 11 workshop to explore possible changes to local room-occupancy (tourism) tax rules, with the mayor outlining four propositions including updating Macon County—s 1985 enabling legislation, considering an increase to the occupancy-tax rate, expanding local decision-making about allocations and increasing transparency around the Tourism Development Commission (TDC).
"As any workshop session, nothing is final," the mayor said as he presented comparative county models and a summary from the Magellan Strategy Advisors report showing a range of local approaches. He noted many nearby counties use a two-thirds promotion / one-third tourism-related split, while Macon County currently directs 100% of occupancy revenue to tourism promotion. The mayor also advised that any legislative change would require county cooperation and possibly action by the state legislature, and he flagged a likely April 2026 deadline for local-legislation requests.
Why it matters: room-occupancy tax money funds tourism marketing and related…
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