The City Council adopted General Ordinance No. 24‑1408 on Nov. 25 to update the city’s transient lodging tax code (chapter 8.04). Staff said most recommended changes are administrative and intended to improve transparency and enforcement, and explicitly stated the ordinance does not increase the tax rate.

Key amendments explained by staff and the city attorney included renaming the chapter from "transient room tax (TRT)" to the statewide term "transient lodging tax (TLT)," deleting antiquated terms, aligning definitions with Oregon law, expanding refund procedures consistent with state law, authorizing use of the county electronic lien docket for collections, and increasing certain limited interest charges from 1% to 3% in constrained refund or late‑payment situations.

The most substantive change is updating the city code to require a 55% minimum deposit into the tourism promotion fund. Staff and the city attorney explained the 55% figure reflects state law and the city's existing practice (the prior local code still stated 21%). "The state requires us to put in 55% only because the city has historically put in 55%," the city attorney told the council; the ordinance makes that practice explicit in local code.

Council opened the floor for public comment (Kevin Driscoll offered a brief administrative suggestion). Councilor Long moved to adopt General Ordinance 24‑1408 by title only; Councilor McLaughlin seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

What happens next: the ordinance will be codified in the Dallas Municipal Code; staff also said draft funding agreements with Wasco County and the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District to allocate some funds for water needs are in development and will return to council as part of the budget process.