Trinity County advisory board advances draft plan, outreach amid distrust over past TOT use

Trinity County’s advisory board on forming a Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) reviewed a draft management district plan, an updated timeline for a petition drive, and nonprofit formation steps at a meeting that highlighted lingering distrust among lodging owners about how previous TOT (transient occupancy tax) revenues were used.

The board and Civitas consultant Katie (last name not specified) outlined a schedule that would aim to start petitioning lodging owners in mid-June, submit petitions in July for a Board of Supervisors resolution of intention, send mail notice the day after that resolution, hold a public meeting in August and a final public hearing in September, and set a target effective date for the district of Jan. 1, 2026. “The funds that are generated through the assessment of the district to those lodging providers…cannot be directed or diverted to government programs,” Katie said, citing Prop 26 and state assessment law.

Why it matters: If a TBID is formed, assessed lodging businesses would pay an added assessment (the draft uses a percentage-of-revenue model) intended to fund marketing, events, signage and administrative costs chosen by a nonprofit board made up of assessed businesses. The county’s role would be limited to collection and verifying petitions; control over spending would rest…