With a short but proven track record of funding capital projects, Jackson County will increase its occupancy tax rate to allow for more funding for its Tourism Development Authority. 

Great Smokies Mountain National Park has seen new changes in recent years, from soaring record attendance placing it head and shoulders above the field for the most visited national park to a first-of-its-kind parking tag program designed to generate revenue while also protecting visitors and natural resources that has generated the ire of some surrounding communities. 

In the first year since Great Smoky Mountains National Park launched the Park it Forward program, the fee has generated over $10 million in revenue, which includes parking tag sales and camping fees.

As voters ponder the ballot for executive offices within the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians next month, they’ll be looking at a list of familiar names. 

During a rare special-called meeting on the morning of June 16, aldermen shaved another 1.5 cents off the proposed ad valorem tax rate but couldn’t quite meet demands from citizens to bring the budget down to a revenue-neutral level, due to long-term ramifications on the town’s emergency savings. 

A countywide property reappraisal earlier this year generated substantial increases in property value for many homeowners, who will now have higher tax bills despite lower tax rates. Taxpayers and elected officials on two local governing boards aren’t happy about that. 

Despite the dire predictions of spring 2020, Jackson County’s budget prognosis for the 2021-2022 fiscal year is looking downright positive, commissioners learned during a Feb. 23 budget retreat.