Maggie Valley Board of Aldermen will not be weighing in on the proposed occupancy tax increase after a Thursday vote resulted in a stalemate.

Alderman Phillip Wight made a motion to vote against the 2 percent occupancy tax increase. After sleeping on the issue since the public input hearing on Monday, he said he still couldn’t support it.

“I don’t even think it benefits moving Maggie Valley forward like you say it does,” he said. “To move Maggie forward, all the business owners are supposed to be together, and we’re not together.”

Like Waynesville or Asheville, Wight said there were other options for taxing districts, “but for y’all to release your 2 percent to the county level, I’m sorry I can’t support that.”

Alderman Saralyn Price said she disagreed.

“I personally think this would help ...