Washington County supervisors voted to set a county registration fee for short‑term rentals and to proceed with a third‑party software platform to operate the registry.

The fee decision matters because the county’s short‑term rental law tasks the county with running a registry and administering occupancy tax collection; supervisors said the registry must be in place before the county can begin collecting the local occupancy tax authorized under state law.

At the meeting the short‑term rental administrator explained the software vendor Deckard would provide the registry and administrative services. The administrator said Deckard’s base price under the county’s selected configuration is about $18,500 per year; as a two‑year procurement that would amount to roughly $36,000. The administrator also told supervisors the county estimates between 250 and 300 active short‑term rental listings at any given time and that the platform can help detect unregistered listings.

Supervisors discussed how the application fee should cover the county’s direct costs — staffing to administer the program, third‑party software fees, and outreach to hosts — without being so high that it discourages compliance. The administrator said the fee will include a short self‑certification as part of registration: “When the registrants set themselves up in the software, there are 4 questions that they have to answer that self certified, that they have a fire extinguisher, they have emergency contact numbers, etcetera,” the administrator said, noting that the law allows complaint‑driven inspection authority.

During discussion one supervisor recommended a fee in the $100–$250 range; others raised concerns about user counts and compliance burdens for code enforcement officers. After discussion, Supervisor Shub moved to set the county registration fee at $2.50 (one registration every two years); the motion received a second and was approved by the board.

Officials also noted several implementation steps: the county will share the registry list (addresses) with state tax authorities as required, the county will carry out outreach to hosts (including those who advertise off the major platforms), and the board will determine local enforcement practices and whether towns will carry out inspections. Staff said the Deckard product can generate lists to help the county identify hosts that are not registered.

The board’s vote authorizes the registry fee level and moves procurement and outreach work forward; supervisors said staff should return with any final vendor contract details, outreach plans, and recommended enforcement procedures. The board’s action does not change state collection rules but establishes the county’s registration fee and vendor pathway for the local registry.