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I have been following the efforts by county commissioners to shift and broaden the sources of funding that our county relies on to provide citizens with necessary services. I appreciate the conscientious work this has required.
This current proposal to increase the transient lodging tax (TLT) is an effort to leverage money from tourists and visitors to pay for services caused by their presence here, and that makes sense to me. Due to our visitor population, we have added costs in road maintenance and public safety services and it’s appropriate for the visitors to pay for that.
As the owner of a short term rental in Tillamook County, I don’t pay the lodging taxes. Those taxes are paid for by the guests who stay at my rental. And while an increase in the lodging tax, especially a forty percent increase, is bound to cause my guests to flinch, I still think it’s fair that they pay it. If visitors don’t pay for these additional costs, then those costs must be borne by all county residents and I don’t think that’s at all fair.
However, there is one aspect of this TLT system that irks me, and that is the state mandated 30/70 split, whereby 30% of the lodging tax dollars go into the county general fund, while 70% must be spent attracting tourists to our area. I know that in our county we have worked hard to allot some of that 70% on facilities that benefit visitors and residents alike, nonetheless, this split creates a hardship on our county budget.
I am willing to accept an increase in our TLT, but as part of this change, I would like the commissioners and the county to commit to putting resources towards pressuring the state to change the 30/70 split. Even a 50/50 split would be a big step forward.
Sincerely,
Vivi Tallman
Nehalem Oregon
