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Economic development officials ask Mount Shasta council to restore Discover Siskiyou funding, say withholding could be unlawful
Summary
Siskiyou Economic Development Council representatives asked the city to rescind a prior decision to withhold Discover Siskiyou assessment funds, saying the assessment is governed by lodging businesses and not county transient occupancy tax and that withholding would harm businesses.
Representatives of the Siskiyou County Economic Development Council asked the Mount Shasta City Council to rescind its prior decision to withhold funding for Discover Siskiyou, the city’s lodging‑industry assessment program for tourism promotion, and warned that withholding the funds could be unlawful.
Tanya Dallas, with the Siskiyou Economic Development Council, told the council the Discover Siskiyou program is governed by lodging properties that assess themselves a 2% fee to invest in businesses they operate. Dallas said assessment districts are created and governed by the businesses that pay into them and that “the law that allows assessment districts to exist is very stringent. And you have to demonstrate straight a direct benefit to the businesses who pay into it.” She asked the council to rescind the withholding decision and said the council’s action would “cause harm to those businesses” if funds are withheld.
A colleague, Heather Dodds, representing Discover Siskiyou, clarified how the program is funded and how the funds are handled: “some members of the council thought that the assessment came out of TOT. Like, it was taken off the top of t o t and just wanted to really clarify that it's completely separate. Our funds are never received by the county, so it it wouldn't be touching the county at all.” Dodds said Discover Siskiyou has ongoing projects in Mount Shasta and offered to provide industry updates and training on assessment districts for council members.
Dallas said the economic development council has prepared an attorney’s letter arguing the withholding action was inappropriate and possibly unlawful and offered to return for a more detailed briefing or training. No formal action was taken at the meeting to change the council’s previous decision.
Clarifying details discussed: the Discover Siskiyou assessment is described in the meeting as a 2% lodging assessment governed by lodging businesses; these assessment funds are separate from the county or city transient occupancy tax (TOT) collections; Discover Siskiyou representatives offered to provide additional explanation and suggested an attorney’s letter has been submitted regarding the council’s prior action.
