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Council members ask staff for list of revenue options, flag timing for any ballot measures
Summary
Council members directed staff to prepare an initial list of revenue options — including changes to occupancy tax collection on platforms, fines and transfers of sidewalk responsibilities — and flagged a compressed schedule if any proposal must reach voters by June 2026.
City Council members asked staff to assemble an initial, 45-day report cataloging options to generate revenue for the city and to clarify which measures would require a public vote.
Council members emphasized that most options would not affect the current fiscal year and that any new revenue would likely show up in the city’s fiscal-year 2027 budget. A staff speaker said a fuller report will be released in February and that “a penny saved is a penny earned,” urging the council to consider both revenue increases and cost reductions.
The list the council requested is to include: revenue options by type (fines, taxes, fees), the likely effect on restricted (special) versus general funds, and ideas staff may not yet have considered. Council members discussed administrative clarifications to the city code to ensure short-term rental platforms remit transient occupancy taxes the city intends to collect, noting that an administrative interpretation may close some gaps but that a change perceived as increasing taxes would require voter approval.
Members also raised non-tax measures — for example returning responsibility for sidewalk maintenance to property owners — as ways to free up city funds without raising rates. Council members asked staff to include potential impacts on individual programs if revenues are directed to special funds rather than the general fund.
Speakers asked staff to coordinate with the City Administrative Officer and City Attorney’s Office as needed, and to consult departments such as the Chief Operating Officer’s office. One council member repeated that timing is critical if the council wants to place measures on a June 2026 ballot rather than November.
Several council members urged outreach to affected stakeholders before any formal proposal: the hotels association for occupancy-tax changes, operators in the cannabis industry if councilors seek to expand allowable cannabis business types, and department leaders who may have revenue ideas to add to the report.
The council did not take a final vote on any specific tax or fee in this discussion. Instead, members approved moving forward with a coordinated, departmental review and asked for an initial options list within roughly 45 days so the group can refine proposals and determine which would require voter approval.
