BENTON, Tenn. — Polk County wants to recoup its costs for fire and rescue, ambulance and law enforcement services it provides for the Ocoee River rafting industry.
Rafting companies agree they will pay a fee that is legal, justifiable and enforceable.
County commissioners and Ocoee River Outfitters Association board members met this week to discuss the proposed fees.
“We are concerned that whatever is passed is legal,” said Keith Jenkins, president of the outfitters association. “We’re not going to have a customer suing us or having three outfitters … in court.”
The fees would be between 18 and 21 cents per ticket, according to calculations by Polk County’s emergency services and clerk’s offices. Commissioner John Pippenger also said he believed the state has placed a cap of 50 cents on such fees.