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Council adjusts tax to fund tourism, hotel ads

SULPHUR SPRINGS - Following a lengthy discussion, the Sulphur Springs City Council Tuesday agreed to lower its current hotel occupancy tax.

The practice of sharing half of the six percent tax for use at the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center will cease.

Instead, council agreed to drop the rate from six to five percent, with three percent to go toward tourism activities for the city. According to City Manager Marc Maxwell, the remaining two percent will be placed into a reserve fund for future projects. He says the hope is, as part of the first special project, to use the funds to rebate local hotel advertisement dollars.

Hopkins County Commissioners, after previously learning they would not be receiving the three percent tax from the city for the Civic Center, raised their hotel occupancy rate to seven percent.