SOUTH WHIDBEY RECORD: Langley’s 12th committee to consider lodging taxes (AUDIO)

Kira Erickson reports from the Langley City Council meeting of Mon., Nov. 7, 2022.

The city of Langley has added yet another committee to its growing list of citizen boards.

This week, the Langley City Council approved an ordinance establishing the new Lodging Tax Advisory Commission.

They Said It

Council members were initially in disagreement about whether to classify the new committee as a legislative commission, which would require two council members to be voting members, or a regular commission, which would ask one council member to serve as a non-voting liaison.

“Because of how much time we spend in these meetings, and how much other things we have going on, I don’t see there being an issue with it being a legislative commission,” Councilmember Thomas Gill said.

Councilmember Rhonda Salerno, however, said she felt that it was a big decision to make it a legislative commission right away.

Councilmember Gail Fleming said it made sense to her that the new commission should be a regular advisory one, along with all the other city committees.

“We don’t micromanage. We let them do all the research and the work, etc. We respect that and they bring it to council and we vote,” she said. “I don’t understand why the lodging tax commission would be any different than the other advisory commissions.”

Other council members, however, viewed the legislative format as a possible way to hasten often lengthy council discussions. Councilmember Harolynne Bobis pointed out that the council usually spends “the next 40 minutes” going through any recommendation made by the citizen-led committees.

Gill said he thought it would help streamline the process better to make it a legislative commission, but that things could go either way.

“As Harolynne has said, we have this really bad habit of getting reports from our existing advisory committees and then spending six months to a year telling them no,” he said.

“My biggest concern with opening residency requirements up too far is, this is the city of Langley. This is not the city of South Whidbey,” Gill said. “If something needs to happen in South Whidbey, that’s what the port and the county’s for, not the city of Langley.”