Houston County could soon benefit from a lodging tax; voters will decide in a few months | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — In just four months, Houston County voters will go to the polls.

One of the items on that ballot will be a vote to add a 1 percent lodging tax to hotels and motels throughout the county.

The lodging tax money will go toward recreation programs throughout the county, a need that commissioners say has been neglected over the years.

The city of Dothan already has a 13% lodging tax and if Houston County got that 1% tax, it could bring millions of dollars to programs that badly need new fields and equipment.

Houston County Commission Chairman Brandon Shoupe says this vote will help them solve this problem.

“If you have a dilapidated field, if you have sewer problems, if you can’t light your field because you don’t have them or can’t pay to turn them on, that’s a problem,” said Shoupe. “I think this is a problem we need to ask people in our community to help solve.”

If the tax passes, the commission’s plan is to post a bond of more than $3 million.

This money will be used to renovate several recreational and sports parks for young people, as well as to build an official trail complex.