Hotel Manager, Fiscal Court Discuss Room Tax Rate

At the McCracken County Fiscal Court meeting Monday night, discussion ensued in regards to the new Transient Room Tax.

During the meeting, officials once again discussed the new tax on hotels and other lodging, including possibly collecting from Airbnb.

Commissioner Eddie Jones noted his dislike for some of the language of the current draft. Craig Clymer noted the concerns and mentioned that as they get closer to a final draft of the ordinance, there could be several more re-writes before it was all said and done.  

Cary Allen, the general manager of the local Holiday Inn Express, voiced his concerns. "While I appreciate the approach of taxing the Airbnb here in Paducah, I don't think it's quite fair that the hotels take on the burden of financing this new Sportsplex." 

Allen said, "You're going to be forcing folks to make a decision about what town they actually want to stay at.  Paducah's not the only game in town."

Allen also mentioned that people who are visiting the area would also be eating, and suggested a small tax on area restaurants.

Jones answered by saying that state law allows only certain classes of cities to impose restaurant taxes, and his understanding is that is isn't currently possible in Paducah.

Jones told Allen that while it does seem unfair to only tax hotels and lodging, he's working to get a better understanding of those laws and if anything can be changed to better benefit local governments. 


In other business, the Fiscal Court tabled an ordinance related to changes in county zoning and subdivision regulations. Commissioners said they had some issues with language in the ordinance, so it will be revisited.

Commissioners also approved the purchase from Linwood Motors of three 2019 Dodge Durango AWD vehicles for the Sheriff's Department, at a cost of $28,710 each. Bids were opened on July 18 and Linwood was the only bid received. The bid amount was lower than the state contract amount of $28,963.