Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Los Alamos Lodgers Tax Board refines 2026 work plan, will submit revised draft to county council
Loading...
Summary
The Lodgers Tax Advisory Board discussed edits to its 2026 work plan to align with the county’s draft 2026 strategic leadership plan, agreed to add measurable accomplishments and project‑identification steps, and asked staff to revise language for board review in January before submission to council.
The Los Alamos County Lodgers Tax Advisory Board spent most of its meeting refining a draft 2026 work plan and agreeing on the next steps for council submission. Chair Jennifer Olson opened discussion of the plan’s purpose — to outline tasks, timelines and resources for the board’s 01/01/2026–12/31/2026 work — and Ellen, the board’s staff liaison, said the plan is due to county council on Feb. 1 and that the board should approve a working draft for submission in January.
Why it matters: Counselor Melanie Hand, who serves as the county council liaison, urged LTAB to mirror council language in the county’s draft 2026 strategic leadership plan so the board’s recommendations will read consistently during the council review process. Hand read revised council language for economic vitality and tourism and recommended LTAB align its wording accordingly. “Establish tools and processes that are clear and support businesses' navigation through county regulatory and approval requirements,” Hand said, noting the council’s edits to the strategic plan.
Board members said the work plan should be more specific and measurable. Several members and Counselor Hand recommended converting items that had been repeatedly described as activities into documented accomplishments or concrete next steps — for example, recording progress from the tourism task force review and identifying which recommended projects remain incomplete. Ellen said she will update the draft to note that project identification has begun and that the board plans to finalize project prioritization in early 2026.
Members also discussed adding a working‑group line item to research grant models used by nearby counties (Santa Fe, Taos, Rio Arriba) that allocate lodging revenue to community projects. Connor Tharp suggested exploring whether a similar discretionary grant program could be feasible in Los Alamos; Ellen said such a project could extend beyond one budget year and would need council budget approval.
What’s next: Ellen will incorporate the wording changes discussed during the meeting and return the revised draft to Chair Olson and the board for a January review before it goes to the council working group. The board agreed to prioritize clarity about what the LTAB has accomplished in past years, to document lessons learned (including quorum challenges), and to add a working‑group item for any longer‑term project research.
