Kane County approves 0.25% transient room tax increase under HB456 after debate

The Kane County Commission voted 2–1 on May 27 to raise the county transient room tax (TRT) by 0.25 percentage points as allowed under newly enacted HB456. The increase, from 4.25% to 4.5%, will make the county eligible to compete for a state grant program intended to fund mitigation costs tied to tourism, such as EMS, search and rescue, porta-potties and waste management.

Commissioner Cabea introduced slides summarizing HB456’s changes, saying the statute tightens TRT reporting, clarifies allowable mitigation expenditures and creates an Outdoor Recreation Mitigation Board that will distribute grants to qualifying counties. Cabea and tourism staff said the county’s tourism office will need to provide more detailed counts (for example, EMS calls and search-and-rescue incidents tied to nonresidents) for the new reports.

Commissioner Brown opposed raising the tax, arguing the state is already increasing TRT at the state level and that hotels and short-term rental operators had told commissioners the tax burden was already high. The chair and other commissioners said mitigation demands have grown—citing rising porta-potty and EMS costs at busy trailheads—and that access to grant funding could offset those expenses. Les Myers voted in favor; Christiane Cabea also voted aye. The chair recorded the roll call and noted the measure passed 2–1.

The motion as presented in the meeting packet authorized staff to proceed with ordinance language reflecting the 0.25% increase; county legal staff recommended including a redlined amendment before final codification so the ordinance publisher can update the online version. Commissioners discussed whether additional public notification was required; legal counsel indicated the board could vote at this meeting and staff would finalize ordinance language for publication.

What happens next: staff will prepare the amended ordinance and any required notices. The change takes effect after standard ordinance adoption steps and any waiting periods identified in the ordinance code; commissioners said they would direct the county attorney’s office to finalize language consistent with the motion and HB456’s requirements.

Quotes from the meeting: "This will qualify us for that grant program that will have approximately $6,000,000 or more a year available to smaller counties, for mitigation reasons," Commissioner Cabea said during the presentation. "I really hate it when the state tells us we have to raise taxes to get something," a commissioner said in opposition, adding that raising TRT could further burden local lodging businesses.

Authorities and formal actions: The vote was conducted in public session; the motion to increase the TRT as authorized by HB456 passed 2–1. The commission asked county legal staff to prepare and redline the ordinance for final publication and online update.