The Pioneer shared a letter from Tillamook County Hotel Owners (4/23/25) urging a “NO” vote on Measure 29-183 to increase Transient Lodging Tax (TLT). The hotel owners provided information directly from the County’s ordinance about how the additional taxes would be allocated. Here is some additional information provided by the group’s spokesperson.
To clarify how the 4% TLT increase is to be spent. This is from the County’s document passed for voter approval:
70% must be used for tourism promotion and facility construction/improvement (by State law).
30% goes to the County. Of that 30%, 10% is for roads and 90% for public safety.
But Section 12(d) says the following about the public safety – “Revenues…are to be used in place of current General Fund revenues of equal value.”
That means the TLT tax will replace, not increase, the existing public safety budget. The funds currently used for these public services will be moved to the General Fund – and there is no accountability for how this will be spent.