Visitor bureau reports $1.577 million budget, warns lodging-tax changes would alter local split

Janice Longway, executive director of the Coos Bay–North Bend–Charleston Visitor and Convention Bureau, told the Coos Bay City Council that the bureau’s adopted budget for the fiscal year is $1,577,000 and that the organization is at roughly 63% of expected income and has spent about 45% of the budget midway through the year.

Longway said the bureau has received first-quarter transient lodging tax (TLT) receipts from the City of Coos Bay and Coos County and expects other portions of expected lodging-tax receipts to arrive on a different cadence. "Our budget this year is $1,577,000," she said.

The nut graf: The bureau argued its marketing and event work returns community economic activity and cautioned that pending changes at the state level to lodging-tax rules could affect how much money the bureau receives versus the taxing entities. Longway described a locally grandfathered split for taxes enacted before February 2003 and said that split produces a different allocation for the bureau compared with later taxes subject to the 70/30 formula favored in state statute.

Longway told the council that, for the three communities the bureau represents, the existing structure results in taxing entities keeping 61% of lodging taxes while the bureau receives 39% of the total for its work and for an earmarked visitor information-center fund. She described the legal and historical reasons for that arrangement, saying the split for taxes in effect before February 2003 was preserved when the state law changed.

The presentation included economic-impact figures the bureau compiles annually: Longway said visitors spent about $329.5 million countywide in 2023, supporting roughly 3,800 jobs in Coos County, and that the three communities of Coos Bay, North Bend and Charleston accounted for about $147.9 million of that spending and roughly 2,100 jobs. Longway said the bureau conservatively estimates that 15% of that local spending was influenced by the bureau’s work and that, on that basis, the bureau calculates an estimated $27.50 return for every $1 spent on marketing.

Longway described several upcoming and recent bureau-supported events and projects: promotion support (about $30,000 committed) for a new flight from Denver, hosting the League of Oregon Cities annual conference at the Mill Casino in May with an expected 300–350 attendees, hosting the Oregon Regional Special Olympics track-and-field and bocce competitions in June (regional teams from Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties) and a call for 75–100 volunteers for that event. She also said the bureau is redesigning its website to meet updated accessibility coding standards and is seeking a grant to cover part of that work.

Council members thanked Longway and asked follow-up questions about the lodging-tax breakdown and the bureau’s outreach. Longway added that the bureau produces an economic-impact document and industry newsletter and coordinates local promotions such as bridal and tourism-week events.

Ending: Longway said she had materials available for council members and offered to answer further questions. No formal council action was taken on the presentation.