Ark Valley News - Kechi establishes new tax it can’t use

Kechi establishes new tax it can’t use
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: January 18, 2018

The Kechi City Council on Jan. 11 started a new tax the city can't use.

The council established a transient guest tax rate, a fee that can be applied to hotels, motels or other establishments that have two or more rentable rooms. The idea is that the city can recoup funds from visitors to help cover the costs of taking care of the city. Residents living in the city pay taxes to help maintain the city's infrastructure — so a transient guest tax ensures that those staying only for a short time also pay.

The problem is, there are no such facilities in Kechi.

"It's important to note that we do not currently have any hotels or motels within city limits," said city treasurer Nicole Bailey. "There's not a business in town that will have this tax at this time. But we recommend that we go ahead and set this up now so that if an overnight establishment wanted to come to Kechi, we'd have the tax in place."

The city looked at where others in the area have set their transient guest tax rates and unanimously approved a fee of six percent (of the cost of the rented room). The funds would be earmarked for economic development.