Numbers promising for county’s new hotel/motel tax

Young County received its first month’s hotel occupancy tax which brought in $2,307.31 from the Wildcatter Ranch and Resort and Spa, showing a good outlook for the fund established to promote Fort Belknap. In December, Young County commissioners passed a resolution establishing a hotel occupancy tax of 5 percent in all unincorporated areas to continue indefinitely after Jan. 1 unless voted down by a majority of the Commissioners Court. Commissioner Precinct 1 Mike Sipes partnered with the city of Graham in order to learn about placing a hotel/motel tax in the county and said the tax could bring in more money, depending on the revenue generated by hotels. “What is really good about that is the more success that the Wildcatter has, the more success this has,” Sipes said. “So we are probably looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $24,000 at the end of the year to do a project at Fort Belknap.” The goal of the tax is to provide additional renovations, support and promotion of Fort Belknap. The money is transferred into the general account for the county but on a separate line in the budget to see how much revenue is generated from the tax. For the rest of this story, subscribe to our print or online edition.