Pless TDA, deannexation bills advance
Two bills filed by Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) made significant progress in the General Assembly this week.
NCGA photo
A pair of local bills pushed by Rep. Mark Pless (R-Haywood) — one welcomed by most, another, not so much — took important steps through the General Assembly earlier this week but still have a long way to go if they’re to become law.
The first, H169, would authorize the Haywood County Board of Commissioners to raise the room occupancy tax from 4% to 6%, but at a cost. All official municipal representation on the TDA’s board would be eliminated, including spending requirements delineated by zip code, and the board’s size would shrink by about half.
Residency requirements, however, would be implemented for board members for the first time, essentially requiring an equal number of members from the western part of the county and from the eastern part of the county. The county commission’s non-voting member would also be elevated to voting member, essentially giving the commission a formal sign-off on the TDA’s operations.
Initially, the bill had proposed defunding the Haywood TDA altogether by removing its authority to collect room occupancy taxes, which it must spend on marketing and on capital projects that benefit both tourists and locals. Pless had alleged improper spending and a lack of accountability by the agency.
But when the bill came out of the House Finance Committee, it instead offered the tantalizing increase the Haywood TDA had been seeking for years, even before Executive Director Corrina Ruffieux took the helm in early 2023.
Once that happened, Ruffieux called it “a huge win for all of Haywood County.”
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Tourism is a significant part of Western North Carolina’s economy. Of late, Haywood’s TDA has spent around $3 million a year in occupancy tax revenues after overhead. If the bill becomes law and Haywood commissioners opt to raise the room occupancy tax rate, that number will almost certainly rise above $4 million.
A fiscal note attached to the bill projects a $1.6 million increase in collections for fiscal year 2025-26, which begins on July 1. The note projects the same increase for the 2026-27 fiscal year, $1.7 million for the next two fiscal years and $1.8 million for fiscal year 2029-30.
Kevin Ensley, chair of the Haywood County Board of Commissioners, told The Smoky Mountain News on May 20 that he thought the 6% was a good idea, especially as it doesn’t put Haywood’s room occupancy tax rate above neighboring counties. Buncombe and Jackson counties both have a 6% room occupancy tax rate.
At the same time, Jennifer Best, the Haywood commissioner who currently serves on the TDA’s board, said she was excited about the bill and that keeping the rate at 4% could have left the county at a disadvantage.
Pless’ bill enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the House, passing its second and third readings by margins of 101-4 and 106-4, respectively.
As a local bill, the legislation will not make a stop on Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk for a possible veto if it clears the Senate, but as a local bill, it does need the assent of Haywood County’s two senators — Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) and Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell).
In this case, Pless’ TDA bill got that support. On June 11, the bill was referred to the Senate’s Rules Committee.
If the bill clears the Senate, Haywood commissioners would have to vote to levy the 6% room occupancy tax. If they don’t, neither the room occupancy tax rate nor the board composition would change and the rate stays at 4%.
The other bill — far more controversial — would allow several property owners within the municipal limits of Maggie Valley to de-annex from the town.
When Pless filed H336 on March 6, it contained a list of eight properties that had asked for deannexation. As second version listed nine properties, but the current third version lists only seven. The change between the second and third reflects the removal of realtor and former Maggie Valley Aldermen Linda Taylor’s parcels on Summit Drive, right in front of the Maggie Valley police station.
Their motivations for deannexation are as diverse and decentralized as the parcels themselves, which are spread across town. Taylor had a 3.8‑acre parcel on Moody Farm Road annexed into the town in 2006, anticipating development of an upscale RV park that stalled due to a January 2022 moratorium and subsequent down‑zoning. Other owners cite fragmented parcels they wish to consolidate, or farm use.
De‑annexation would relieve them of Maggie Valley’s municipal property tax, 40 cents per $100 in assessed value, leaving only the county’s 55-cent rate. However, they would lose services like local police, town water and sewer at municipal rates and trash pickup.
Mayor Mike Eveland and aldermen warn it could threaten zoning protections, potentially opening neighboring lands to unregulated development.
Together, the parcels are valued at just over $1.3 million. Deannexation would reduce general fund property tax revenue by about $5,300 annually, or roughly 0.25%.
Eveland fears this move signals broader efforts to erode town jurisdiction, particularly given Pless’ recent bill stripping the town of its ability to exercise powers in its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The town board passed a resolution opposing H336 during its March 11 meeting, and aldermen remain vigorously opposed to the bill.
Like the TDA bill, Pless’ deannexation bill would need the support of Corbin and Hise to reach the Senate.
“In fairness, I have done the same thing for the town of Andrews a couple of times,” Corbin told The Smoky Mountain News on June 13. “They have had parcels that were on the edge of town that maybe shouldn’t have been in it.”
That bill, run in the House by Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), got Corbin’s support because both the town and the property owners were in agreement on the deannexation — a condition that is not currently present in Maggie Valley.
Corbin said he’s heard concerns from Maggie Valley about the bill and that he would look deeper into the issue soon, but he has some time. The bill passed its second reading June 11 by a narrow party-line vote of 56-50, with four Republican defections. It is scheduled for a third reading in the House on June 17.
