Tillamook County commissioners approve sending 14% transient lodging tax amendment to May ballot

The Tillamook County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a third amendment to Ordinance No. 74 and will refer the measure to the May 2025 ballot. If approved by voters, the county TLT would increase to 12% effective Sept. 1, 2025 and to 14% effective July 1, 2026; cities would retain a credit of up to 11% on Sept. 1, 2025 and up to 13% on July 1, 2026.

The nut graf: The ordinance change keeps the existing 10% tax structure in place and directs the additional revenue — described in the ordinance as the “new money” — to tourism promotion and to offsetting budgeted general-fund costs for public safety and emergency services. The board approved the amended ordinance after a public hearing that drew multiple short-term rental (STR) owners and managers who objected to the size and timing of the increase; the vote was to refer the amendment, not to enact the tax immediately.

The ordinance preserves the current treatment of the first 10% of TLT revenues (no change to the existing 70/30 split used by the county). The proposed additional tax (the 4 percentage points that would…