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McCall council adopts 1% local-option sales tax and 4% additional occupancy tax for short-term rentals
Summary
The council adopted Ordinance No. 1028 to place a 1% local-option sales tax (excluding groceries and motor vehicles) and an additional 4% occupancy tax on short-term rentals, with revenues directed to transportation, stormwater and related capital projects and to support local housing goals and grant matching.
The McCall City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1028 on Feb. 11, imposing a 1% local-option non-property sales tax for 10 years on taxable retail sales within city limits (excluding groceries and motor vehicles) and an additional 4% occupancy tax on hotel, motel and short-term rentals.
City manager Forrest Atkinson and city clerk Bessie Jo Wagner presented the ordinance and the ballot title language to the council. Staff told the council the proposed 1% renewal/replacement of an expiring local option tax would fund street and transportation infrastructure (including stormwater and snow-storage management), leverage matching funds for grants and public-private partnerships, and support right-of-way and transportation projects that advance local housing goals. The tax proposal is slated for a May ballot; council and staff said a 60% supermajority will be required for approval by voters.
Communications staff summarized a resident surveyfinding that respondents preferred concentrating increases on accommodation taxes rather than raising the general sales tax; staff cautioned that raising lodging taxes further (to 2% on top of the existing 3% local lodging tax) risked jeopardizing the measure in the current economic climate.
Council members discussed how the funds would be allocated through the capital improvement plan (CIP) and maintenance improvement plan (MIP) and emphasized that the council's annual budget and CIP process would determine priorities among eligible uses (streets, stormwater, multimodal facilities and housing-related right-of-way work).
After discussion the council suspended the rules, read the ordinance by title one time and adopted Ordinance No. 1028. Roll-call votes were recorded as: Council Member Thrower: Yes; Council Member Machesek: Yes; Mayor Giles: Yes; Council Member Nelson: Yes. The motion carried.
The ordinance establishes the tax rate and duration (10 years), tasks the city clerk with administration and collection, and specifies that revenues will be directed to capital and enterprise fund infrastructure budgets as described in the ballot language.
