Gig Harbor LTAC briefs on proposed Cultural Access Program; council directed to draft ordinance, measure would go to voters

The Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) heard a staff briefing on a proposed Cultural Access Program after City Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance establishing the program.

City staff said the council’s direction was to prepare the ordinance, but the levy still must be placed before voters and — if approved — would not provide grant awards immediately. Staff said collections would not begin until April 1, 2026 if the measure is approved in November, meaning the earliest awards would likely begin in 2027. Council must decide before the ballot how much of the new fund would be used for startup and ongoing administrative costs, staff said.

The proposed program would create a dedicated fund supported by a city sales-tax increase; staff described it as a single program from which cultural organizations (history, science, arts and related groups) could apply. LTAC members were told the program contains a non-supplanting provision: it cannot be used to replace existing LTAC funding for organizations that already receive lodging-tax grants. Staff warned that the provision will be legally and administratively complex and that attorney guidance will be required before LTAC and council finalize how the two grant streams interact.

Staff also said the ordinance and implementing criteria must address a school-access requirement. According to the briefing, the program design must reserve some portion of funds to provide access to schools and include transportation support when certain school-level thresholds are met. Staff emphasized that council will have to set how much of the pot is reserved for school access and how much may be used for administration before the measure goes on the ballot.

LTAC members discussed timing and staffing. Staff said many other jurisdictions that have launched similar programs already had program managers in place and that Gig Harbor currently lacks a permanent program manager; council must decide whether startup or ongoing administrative costs will come from the fund or elsewhere. The committee was advised that once the ordinance is adopted and the measure is on the ballot, the city will provide factual information but will not organize campaign activity; proponents and opponents would form electoral committees after the measure qualifies.

Several LTAC members and one arts-commission representative said the commission is preparing a letter of support and that more detailed implementation conversations will follow once the council finalizes high-level decisions. Staff said more detailed criteria and program administration work will wait until funding is available and council settles the program’s broad parameters.

Why it matters: Committee members were told the program aims to increase cultural programming and school access but that it also will require council decisions about how much of the tax proceeds are used for administration and school transportation. Those decisions will affect how much money remains available for discretionary grants to cultural groups and how LTAC should coordinate its existing grant programs with the new fund.

What’s next: Staff will continue drafting the ordinance per council direction and return to council and LTAC with additional details. If council places the measure on the November ballot and voters approve it, the earliest grant awards would follow after at least a full year of collections (staff estimated awards would likely begin in 2027).