A Georgia state board found officials in Walker County should provide more detailed bookkeeping and oversight after a citizen complaint challenged the legality of a tax deal benefiting a luxury resort atop Lookout Mountain.
The panel, which oversees the use of taxes collected on hotel stays, took no action on a majority of the claims filed against Walker County and the Walker County Chamber of Commerce by residents Melissa and Jamey Hulsey, according to a post online by county government.
It found no unauthorized expenses were submitted and no unlawful payments had been made to the resort. Walker County is responsible for the collection of hotel-motel taxes, and the chamber, as the destination marketing organization, is responsible for allocating that revenue.
The complainants, who the county said are short-term vacation rental operators, sought to invalidate the county’s hotel-motel tax and unravel the economic development agreement that brought the Cloudland Hotel to Walker County, according to county officials. Many of the allegations were found to lack merit and were quickly resolved with documentation before the hearing, the county said.
(READ MORE: Complaint filed with state challenges tax agreement benefiting McLemore hotel)