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Leavenworth council narrows legislative priorities after heated debate over lodging‑tax use for housing
Summary
Council members debated whether to use existing lodging-tax revenue for housing or to pursue a new tourist-targeted fee or state-level reforms; after discussion the council amended its legislative-priority language to favor pursuing additional taxing authority or fees for housing and reordering priorities for clarity.
Council engaged in a lengthy debate about whether existing lodging-tax (hotel/motel) revenue should be used to support workforce housing or whether the city should press the state for new authorities.
Staff framed the issue as a response to a persistent housing shortage in Leavenworth that local leaders say is driven by a high-tourism economy and a local housing stock increasingly occupied as second homes. One proposal under discussion would allow a modest bonding program repaid with lodging-tax receipts; another would add a new, narrowly targeted fee on lodging to generate housing revenue. Some councilmembers argued that appropriating existing lodging-tax money for housing would be legally risky and could trigger litigation; others cited an attorney-general opinion that permits certain lodging-tax uses for housing in specific circumstances.
Councilmember Anne (Speaker 8) urged caution and recommended the council prioritize state-level reforms (including options for second-home taxation) rather than repurposing currently appropriated lodging-tax funds. Other councilmembers favored adding a carefully structured legislative request to pursue an additional lodging- or sales‑tax line dedicated to housing, phrased as a request for new authority rather than an immediate reallocation of existing dollars. After debate, the council amended and approved its legislative-priorities resolution to (a) reorder bullets so state-level fixes are emphasized, and (b) reword the lodging-tax language to ask the administration and legislative liaisons to pursue authority for an additional targeted fee or tax for housing and flexibility to serve households up to 120% of area median income.
