A Word from Ferg

A word from Ferg.

I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting this week where open communication and cooperation yet again yielded a result for the common good. Go figure.

At issue was a proposed change to the Robertson County Hotel/Motel tax, but not really. Lying just under the surface was the tension and low-grade suspicion that sometimes exists between the city of White House and the Robertson County government.

State Representative Joshua Evans met Wednesday morning with members of the White House city government and Chamber of Commerce, members of the Robertson County Industrial Development Board, and other concerned citizens. He presented a proposal that would allow all municipalities to reap the benefits of the hotel tax, as well as provide the IDB with funds to promote economic development throughout the county.

The new plan is a good one. It would raise the privilege tax (read: tax on visitors who stay in hotels) from 5% to 7%, and allow any city who applies for a grant from the IDB to receive 30% of the revenue generated in their city limits to be spent "for the benefit of Robertson County for industrial and economic development or tourism promotion." The amendment would clean up a bad piece of legislation, one that did benefit White House, but in an unfair manner. One official present at the meeting also pointed out that this was the best kind of tax increase - a tax on people who don't vote locally, making it politically palatable.

Kudos to Rep. Evans and his staff for their work on this plan ... but I can't help but think that with a little advance communication and openness from the county, this plan could have been crafted without the need for outside mediation.

A question that kept reoccurring at Wednesday's meeting was whether or not the funds that White House had received from the IDB in the past had been spent in Robertson County. In my mind, this is a moot point, and betrays what I perceive is the attitude of some Robertson County officials towards White House, which could be phrased as "we don't really like or trust you, but we like your money."

I don't believe they like the fact that the city of White House is the second largest revenue driver for the county, despite the fact that roughly half of the WH citizens who spend their money in Robertson County actually live in Sumner County. Most of the commercial and industrial development in White House is on the Robertson side of town, so Robertson County gets the majority of the loot without having to provide the majority of the services.

I don't believe they like the city's partnership with Forward Sumner, even though that through that partnership White House was able to land a fairly major medical facility with a community network. The network's name? Sumner Regional Medical Center. The facility's location? Robertson County. Forward Sumner has helped White House move to prominence statewide when it comes to commercial and industrial development, with the vast, vast majority of the benefits landing on the Robertson County side, and more to come.

Here's an idea - why not go ahead and trust that what's good for the people of White House is good for Robertson County, and let the city do their job with minimum county interference? They're obviously doing something right, and micromanagement can not possibly help.

This is a good plan - for every $100 of hotel tax money that comes from White House, $30 of it will be spent in the community that's generating more than its fair share for the county, roughly 25% of the county's total sales tax revenue. The other $70 will then be spent wherever the county deems necessary, and all of it will be spent "for the benefit of Robertson County."

No need to get in a torque - a little honesty and openness would go a long way in situations like this. A long way.