Council supports request to reauthorize county lodging tax

A special-purpose tax for area infrastructure won’t be the only tax request voters will decide on this November.

They will also decide the fate of the long-running lodging tax which supports the Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism Board’s promotional efforts.

Funding generated by the tax is used for event grants used to promote events within the county, grants to the county’s two chambers of commerce to act as visitors centers, the Sweetwater County Events Complex to recruit and promote events, as well as out of area marketing to entice visitors to check out the area and other tourism-related projects.

More than 30 local events are funded through the tax and include Art on the Green, Quilting on the Green, and the Flaming Gorge Classic basketball tournament.

The tax was first initiated in 1991 and has been renewed every four years. The last time the tax was placed on an election ballot, it received 82% support from voters.

Jenissa Meredith, the executive director of the Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism Board, said the board’s entire budget is generated from the lodging tax.

“That’s how we fund all those media and marketing efforts,” she said.

She said the only people who pay the tax are people who stay at a hotel or campground in the county. With few exceptions, the tax is paid by visitors to the area.

Meredith said the tourism industry brings Sweetwater County approximately $160 million in revenue annually and supports 1,300 jobs county-wide. She also said the 2% rate proposed is the current rate and won’t result in any changes to lodging costs.

“It’s really big business and really beneficial in Sweetwater County,” she said.

Mayor Pete Rust said when county residents go to other counties they pay a similar tax, and he views the Sweetwater County lodging tax as a fair exchange. The Council unanimously approved a resolution to support the tax.