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County to buy short-term rental registry software; public hearing set to amend law and enable collection of occupancy tax
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Summary
Washington County approved purchase of Decker registry software to implement the state-required short-term rental registry, agreed to fund the initial purchase from the tourism occupancy tax reserve, set a public hearing to amend local law, and authorized staff to proceed with the procurement.
Washington County’s committee approved purchasing a state-contract short-term rental registry platform and set a public hearing to amend local ordinance language so the county can collect occupancy tax from short-term rentals.
County staff reported that changes at the state level require counties to host a single county registry for short-term rentals. Staff recommended Decker software (available on state contract through Sourcewell/SHI) as the platform that best met the county’s needs. The vendor price discussed in committee was $18,030 for the platform; staff proposed using the tourism occupancy tax reserve fund to pay the initial cost and anticipated that an annual registration fee charged to property owners would fund ongoing platform costs.
The committee discussed enforcement mechanisms in the state-law framework, including penalties aimed at short-term rental platforms that continue to list unregistered properties, and the county’s authority to pursue enforcement actions through local courts or to notify the attorney general. Members asked how a town that already had a registry (the transcript referenced Fort Ann as an example) would interact with a county registry and whether nonprofits or motels would be treated differently. Staff and counsel said Fort Ann’s registry is grandfathered but other localities would have to use the county registry once the county established it.
The committee voted to purchase the software, allow County staff (Laura) to complete the procurement while the resolution was finalized, and to set a public hearing at the next full board meeting to amend the county’s occupancy/registry law. Staff said the draft ordinance would align collection authority so the treasurer could receive occupancy tax through the platform. The transcript shows the motion carried by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the excerpt.
