Perry County passes hotel tax; Morley voters OK sales tax

Perry County, Missouri, voters approved a tax on hotel rooms during Tuesday’s election, while Scott County residents likewise voted to extend a city sales tax in Morley, Missouri.

According to unofficial results posted by the Perry County Administration and Election Authority, less than 10% of registered voters turned out, but of the 1,125 ballots cast, more than 75% favored the hotel tax, which would impose a 6% tax on hotel bookings at the four hotels immediately adjacent to Interstate 55 at the Perryville exit. Those hotels together comprise just under 250 rooms.

The hotel tax is intended to help increase tourism in the county by providing an extra source of revenue to the county’s tourism bureau, Perry County Heritage Tourism. The ballot measure’s passage is expected to relieve some of the financial burden from the governments of the City of Perryville and Perry County, both of which contribute about $30,000 a year to fund the office.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites is seen Jan. 18 near Interstate 55 in Perryville, Missouri. Jacob Wiegand ~ jwiegand@semissourian.com, file

The tax is similar to measures implemented in other destination communities near I-55, including Cape Girardeau.

Trish Erzfeld, director of Perry County Heritage Tourism and hotel tax advocate, said the tax could potentially generate as much as $100,000 per year.

Meanwhile, in Scott County, more than 85% of voters supported the extension of a half-cent city sales tax in Morley, according to unofficial results posted by the Scott County Clerk’s Office. The revenue from the tax was touted by all three aldermen candidates as being necessary for the maintenance of city roads, although some raised concerns about the size of the tax.

One candidate, Kenneth Rodgers, told the Southeast Missourian “over the last 10 or 15 years, we have lost our retail base.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

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