On Tuesday, March 5, McIntosh County voters will go to the polls to vote for their preference in the Presidential Primary and vote for a proposition for a county lodging tax.

While the Presidential Ballot is on the forefront of many voters’ minds, county officials hope that voters will take note of the local proposition that could bring more county funds at no cost to local voters.

Ballot Proposition: Shall McIntosh County, Oklahoma be authorized to levy and assess a county lodging tax of (5%) in addition to the other city, county and state taxes from the gross proceeds or gross receipts derived from sleeping accommodations within McIntosh County in perpetuity, pursuant to State Statute. (See complete ballot inside.)

Should this pass, it could have a direct impact on the cash-strapped county’s income.

County Clerk,Deena Farrow; County Treasurer, Betty Whisenhunt and District 2 County Commissioner, Monty Grider have been putting the word out and educating voters by going to different meetings like chambers of commerce, GOP county meetings; cattlemen’s association; county fire department meetings and more.

The word they are putting out is that the lodging tax will be a tremendous help to the county’s emergency services and also help the county’s growth.

Reduce Burden on Residents: By generating revenue from visitors, a lodging tax can help reduce the tax burden on local residents. This can be particularly beneficial in tourist-heavy areas like Eufaula where visitors may place additional strain on local resources such as emergency and law enforcement.

Money collected for lodging taxes outside the city limits of Eufaula and Checotah will be divided several ways.

“This is a chance to help emergency service workers,” Grider said.

50% of the taxes collected will be used for public safety including deputies, dispatch, jailers and 25% (of 50%) to fire protection of rural fire departments.

25% of the proceeds from tax collection will be utilized by a marketing firm to promote Lake Eufaula and/or economic Development including: countywide anti-litter initiative, lodging tax education, advertising and to help promote economic development.

Finally 25% of the proceeds of taxes collected will be designated for administration of tax and General Government.

With a 9% lodging tax, Eufaula has collected $166,000 in 2023 from overnight visitors who had overnight stays within the city limits.

Checotah currently doesn’t have a lodging tax.

The county lodging tax impacts only lodging outside the incorporated city limits of Eufaula and Checotah.

Among lodging facilities that would pay the tax are hotels, motels, yurts, short-term overnight rentals, cabins, RV spots, Corp of Engineer land and bed & breakfasts.

Grider noted that visitors come to the county and spend time here, which puts additional financial strain on emergency services.

Because the county is at the maximum it can tax, it has to turn to other resources for income. A lodging tax is an obvious answer. It’s a painless way to offset the financial burden imposed by visitors and it doesn’t cost locals anything.

“Folks that come in on weekends – some use dispatchers, jailers, deputies, fire departments – they utilize these services, and it taxes our emergency services, causing more work. This is just a way to help pay for those services,” Grider said.

He said this will help in holding onto deputies and dispatchers, where there is a notoriously high turnover rate.

The lodging tax could help with pay raises for the emergency personnel.

“This will help us in our retention rates for deputies and dispatchers. There’s quite a bit of turnover. Other agencies – like the highway patrol and the Creek nation – offer substantially more money than what we offer,” Grider said. “We’re one of the poorer counties in the state.”

“We can’t compete with other agencies on the budget we have,” he said.

The March 5, 2024 Presidential Preferential Primary and McIntosh County Special Election early voting is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 29 and Friday, March 1 or on Saturday, March 2 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the McIntosh County Courthouse.

See sample ballots in this week’s paper.