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Commission approves broader uses for lodgers tax to fund economic, community development
Summary
Taos County commissioners voted to amend Ordinance 2021-3 to allow additional, statutorily permitted uses of lodgers tax revenue, including economic development, community development and community activities.
Taos County commissioners on Aug. 5 approved an amendment to Ordinance 2021-3 that expands the stated uses of the county's lodgers tax to include economic development, community development and community activities.
The change, explained at the meeting by Christopher Madrid, a county staff member, clarifies how the county may allocate non-promotional lodgers-tax revenue under state statute. "We talked to council, and what that means is we have to follow state statute, but you all, through the ordinance, can specify other uses for lodgers tax," Madrid said. "As long as they're in the ordinance, then they can be used for other purposes."
The nut graf: The amendment does not create a new tax; it restates permissible uses in county rules so Taos County can direct lodgers-tax revenue — collected from short-term lodging — toward a broader set of local priorities while remaining subject to state law.
County staff told commissioners the state divides lodgers tax into promotional and non-promotional buckets and specifies allowable expenditures for each. Under the revised ordinance, the county will continue to follow statute for the promotional funds while adopting clearer language to permit non-promotional funds to support economic diversification, community development projects and community activities that may not fit a narrow tourism-promotion definition.
Commission discussion at the public hearing was brief and supportive. Commissioner Vigil said the change was timely and thanked staff for the clarification. After a motion and roll-call vote, the amendment was approved.
Background and next steps: County staff said the change is intended to give commissioners greater flexibility in using lodgers-tax receipts to address tourism-related impacts on infrastructure and workforce and to invest in off-season or non-tourism community priorities. The ordinance amendment will be reflected in the county's codified lodgers-tax rules and used in future budget and grant decisions.
