County leaders to check out hotel tax

 The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will weigh proposals to increase the county hotel/motel tax and disband all but one of the county’s planning commissions.

The proposals, suggested by County Administrator Craig Pedro earlier this year, are designed to help the county meet obligations in one of the most challenging budget environment in years.
  

Earlier this year, the county was forced to cut $8.5 million out of the budget, a move that included various layoffs and cuts to employee compensation.

Increasing the hotel tax — called the transient occupancy tax — was the sole tax increase Pedro recommended during this fiscal year’s budgeting process. The tax, he said, allows the county to charge tourists for the services they use. The tax is charged largely to hotel and motel rooms.    

Supporters of the tax point out that residents generally don’t pay the tax as they rarely stay in hotel rooms. Some hotel owners, though, worry that raising the tax in the midst of the down economy could deter some would-be tourists. The issue has been discussed recently by the local lodging association.

For the tax, currently at 8 percent, to be increased, supervisors would have to put the tax question on the ballot, with voters having the ultimate say.

Eliminating all but one of the planning commissions — the Tuolumne County Planning Commission — is a move that would streamline county operations and save the county money, Pedro said when bring the proposal before the Board of Supervisors earlier this year.

He said now is the opportune time to consider the reorganization, which could save time and money, largely because of the county’s ongoing budget challenges.

The recent recession has reduced the county’s tax revenue — though hotel tax revenue is holding up — and resulted in the state cutting back funds normally given to counties.

Supporters of having multiple planning commissions say the bodies make for local, better informed land-use decisions.

Supervisor Dick Pland is one of such supporters. He has said he opposes the elimination of the three planning commissions. Two of the planning commissions — the Jamestown Area and Columbia Area planning commissions — are within Pland’s district.

Under Pedro’s proposal, the Southern Tuolumne County, Columbia Area and Jamestown Area planning commissions would be axed, with the Tuolumne County Planning Commission taking on the extra workload.

The merits of Pedro’s proposal weren’t debated at length at the board’s prior meeting, but supervisors directed Pedro to come back with more information on the proposal. Tuesday’s agenda item is the result of that directive.

Planning commissioners are appointed by the Board of Supervisors. The planning commissions are largely advisory bodies to the Board of Supervisors on land-use decisions, though they can make some decisions independently.