WHIDBEY NEWS-TIMES: City approves $500k in lodging taxes to be available for grants (VIDEO)

Rachel Rosen reports from the Oak Harbor City Council meeting of Mon., Sep. 6, 2022:

The Oak Harbor City Council voted to approve $500,000 of lodging tax funds to be awarded in 2023.

The lodging tax is a 2% tax from hotels, motels and other lodging-related sales to fund grants that promote tourism.

They Said It

Councilmember Bryan Stucky is the chairperson of the tax advisory committee. He said this was the largest amount of money that has ever been available, and he was “shocked” at how much there was in the fund.

Councilmember Jim Woessner said he was concerned that approving $500,000 was not sustainable, especially if the money was going toward city events, as the fund would not be so large in the following years.

“What I don’t want to end up doing is just spending it to spend it,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to sit on money that could be used in the community.

Stucky reiterated that the money should be given to the community if the city did not have a specific plan for it.

“If we don’t have a plan, this kind of forces our hand to make one quickly or put the money back out there for folks to apply for,” he said.

Councilmember Beth Munns said she wanted to lower the number to $400,000 to reserve some money for a large infrastructure project such as a downtown public restroom. Councilmember Eric Marshall also said he wanted to lower the fund.

Nonetheless, the motion passed 5-2. Munns and Marshall were opposed.