Votes at a glance: Madera County Board approves broadband MOU, short-term rental agreements, noise ordinance and administrative measures

Madera County's Board of Supervisors approved a series of resolutions, agreements and administrative changes during its March 18 meeting. The board handled this set of items largely without extended debate. Key approvals included regional broadband coordination, agreements to collect transient-occupancy tax from short-term rental platforms, adoption of a revised noise ordinance and a set of internal budget and personnel actions.

Highlights

- Broadband regional application: The board authorized the county administrative officer to sign agreements to participate with Merced, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties in a five-county regional application for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD/BEED) program and the California Digital Equity Capacity Grant. The board approved an updated resolution and voted 5-0.

- Short-term rental tax collection (HomeAway/VRBO): The board authorized a voluntary collection agreement with HomeAway.com, Inc. (VRBO) to collect and remit a 9% transient occupancy tax and a 2.5% tourism business improvement district assessment on short-term rentals in unincorporated Madera County, effective March 1, 2025. The county treasurer-tax collector's office reported that Airbnb already collects and remits county taxes and that VRBO is the second-largest platform in county listings. The…