Supervisors review revenue options; staff recommends community-led special-tax approach and exploration of water-rights value

Trinity County staff on June 4 presented a roundup of potential revenue options and asked for board direction. The briefing covered voter-initiated and board-initiated taxes (sales tax percentage increases, a county transient-occupancy tax for lodging), local special districts and community-service-area models, and two nonvoter-controlled long-range possibilities tied to regional water contracts.

Key staff guidance: County staff recommended the county encourage and legally — to the extent permitted — support community-led, initiative-based special taxes (which current case law may allow to pass with a 50%+1 majority if structured as a community initiative). Staff said a community-led approach could allow voters to define spending priorities (for example, public safety, roads, parks) and could avoid the higher two-thirds threshold that applies to some board-placed special taxes.

Sales tax and TOT: Staff displayed revenue estimates for incremental sales-tax increases (0.25% to 1.0%) and described a transient-occupancy tax (TOT) option targeted at lodging and tourism. Staff noted other jurisdictions pursue tourism-focused investments with local TOT or tourist-business improvement districts, and referenced an example in Redding where a community initiative is under discussion.

Water-value options (long-term): Staff briefed on two water-related revenue possibilities that would require complex negotiations or federal legislative change: 1) an allocation tied to a 1959 Humboldt County contract for 50,000 acre-feet of water (a draft allocation has circulated assigning 10,000 acre-feet each to certain downstream entities, but Humboldt County has not signed any MOU and is the principal signatory to that 1959 contract); and 2) revising the Trinity River Division Act (1955) in Congress to change the county’s in-lieu payment (the county now receives about $33,000 annually for land inundation; staff said an escalation formula through legislation could potentially raise that figure into a seven-figure range, but would take multiple congressional sessions and significant effort).

Board direction and next steps: Supervisors signaled interest in a two-track approach: support and empower community-led tax initiatives where feasible and begin exploratory conversations with Humboldt County and with federal representatives about the water-rights and TRD-Act in-lieu payment issues. Staff recommended careful prioritization given the heavy political and resource demands of pursuing changes to historic water agreements or to Congress.

Ending: Supervisors generally supported staff’s recommendation to encourage community-led measures and to continue preliminary dialogues about the water opportunities. Staff will return with public-engagement steps for any voter actions and with recommended next steps for outreach to Humboldt County and Congressional offices if the board wants to pursue those long-term options.