Trinity County advisory board advances draft plan for tourism assessment district; nonprofit formation and timing remain under discussion

Trinity County advisory board members and consulting staff spent the meeting reviewing a draft plan to form a tourism assessment district and the nonprofit that would manage it, discussing key design choices including the proposed 3% assessment rate, a five-year term, who would govern the funds and a start date for collections.

The discussion focused on process and timing: Civitas consultant Katie explained the legal mechanism under the Property and Business Improvement District Law of 1994 and sketched steps to form a nonprofit (articles of incorporation, EIN, bylaws, a first board meeting and IRS filings). Several lodging owners and board members urged a later start date so businesses could prepare and avoid collecting during the current peak season.

The advisory board’s draft management district plan sets a proposed 3% per-transaction assessment on short-term lodging, collected quarterly by the county alongside transient occupancy tax (TOT) collections, with a five-year term and a possible annual increase capped at 1% per year. Katie described how the assessment differs from TOT: “So this is an assessment, not a tax,” she said, noting assessment revenues would be held and spent by a nonprofit that the assessed lodging providers would control rather than going into county general funds.

Why this matters: supporters said the district would create a dedicated, locally controlled funding stream for marketing and destination development and help Trinity County compete with neighboring destinations. Opponents and some lodging owners expressed concern about timing, oversight and the county’s early financial support. During public comment a lodging owner warned that county seed funding raised questions about whether the effort would be primarily public or private: “A TDD is a public and private partnership,” a resident said, and warned the county’s seed spending could create expectations about future public support.

Key details discussed - Formation steps and timeline: Civitas proposed reserving the district name, filing articles of incorporation, submitting an SS-4 for an EIN, drafting bylaws and holding an initial nonprofit board meeting (targeted for July in the draft timeline), then pursuing IRS tax-exempt status (which can take 5–10 months). - Assessment design: draft plan proposes a 3% assessment on lodging collected quarterly by the county; a 1% maximum annual increase is allowed but board members requested a procedural delay before any increase takes effect (proposal discussed: no increase permitted until 12 months after collections begin, with 6 months notice before a change). - Management and governance: the nonprofit corporation would manage day-to-day operations. The draft envisions a governing board comprised primarily of lodging providers; specifics of board composition and election procedures are to be set in the nonprofit bylaws, which the advisory board will draft and the nonprofit board can later amend. - Outreach and petition: consultants and ad hoc members are conducting targeted outreach to lodging owners. To trigger formation the district must clear the petition threshold (more than 50% support by affected businesses, using the standard weighting in the 1994 law); if the petition succeeds, the board of supervisors adopts resolutions to form the district and collections begin on the approved start date. - Voluntary agreements: businesses outside the assessment area—or non-lodging businesses—could opt in via voluntary contracts with the nonprofit. Katie said these contracts usually mirror the district’s assessment rate but can be written differently if both parties agree. - Budget allocation (illustrative): the draft plan includes a starting allocation (illustrative) with a portion for administration (proposed 20% in the draft), sales/marketing, destination development and reserves; advisory members emphasized these are starting figures and the nonprofit board would set final annual allocations. - County seed funding and consultant role: Trinity County has proposed a $30,000 contribution to pay Civitas for initial formation work; board members said the county will not retain control of district funds if the district forms. Katie summarized the county’s role: the county would act as the collector/distributor for the assessment (as it does for TOT) but would not direct nonprofit spending.

Public input and board concerns Lodging owners who spoke at the meeting raised timing and fairness concerns. Multiple owners asked that collections not begin immediately in the middle of the summer season; several recommended moving the start date to later in the year (board members discussed January 1 as an alternative). Hannah, who identified herself as the operator of Indian Creek Lodge, asked, “who decides who is on the board?” board members and the consultant responded that outreach would identify potential directors, a proposed slate would be circulated with the petition, and the nonprofit’s bylaws would govern later changes.

Next steps and administrative items Advisory members agreed to continue outreach, finalize draft bylaws and management plan language for public feedback, and to provide Civitas direction about the nonprofit filing. The group also approved past meeting minutes (motion by Ben; second by Leah) and scheduled the next advisory meeting. Civitas will draft incorporation documents and initial bylaws for ad hoc review and will circulate an updated management plan that reflects discussed changes to the start date and the notice period for assessment changes.

The advisory board will seek more feedback from lodging owners during outreach webinars and district-specific outreach before deciding whether to proceed to a petition drive.