Oak Harbor reviews draft Island County tourism interlocal that would formalize higher lodging‑tax contribution
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Summary
Grants administrator Wendy Horn outlined a draft interlocal to pool Oak Harbor’s additional 2% lodging‑tax revenue with Island County and neighboring towns; under the draft Oak Harbor’s 25% share could raise the city’s contribution from $20,000 to roughly $44,329 annually if enacted. Council asked questions but took no action.
Wendy Horn, Oak Harbor grants administrator, told the city council workshop that Island County, Oak Harbor, Langley and Coupeville are working under a renewed interlocal agreement to pool the additional 2% local portion of the lodging tax and fund a countywide tourism program manager and marketing. “We all signed an agreement back in 2000,” Horn said, and the current draft updates previous amendments.
Horn said Oak Harbor has been contributing $20,000 per year to the joint tourism group since about 2011 and that a council decision in 2023 approved increasing the city’s commitment to $50,000 but that agreement was never fully executed. Using last year’s combined lodging‑tax collections as a baseline, Horn projected a roughly $177,000 total take if collections increase 2.5% and said Oak Harbor’s 25% share of the additional 2% would be about $44,329 — “about another $24,000 above the 20 that we’re already contributing,” she said.
Why it matters: Council members probed whether pooled spending will bring clear local returns. Council member Stuckey, who represents Oak Harbor on the joint board, said the advisory board structure and a staffed program manager would provide oversight and practical improvements such as data access and administrative support. “It’ll give us a full time county employee…which I really think will really help for people getting things like DataFi information,” Stuckey said, describing benefits for tracking visitor activity.
Council members pressed staff on the math and on whether neighboring Langley had opted out; Horn said she was not aware of any opt‑out. Members also raised the difficulty of attributing specific visitor spending to a single marketing campaign, with Stuckey acknowledging the limits of direct ROI attribution but emphasizing Oak Harbor would gain a seat “at the table” and a voice in program priorities.
What happened next: The workshop did not include a vote. Staff will advance final agreement documents and bring clarifications back to council as needed; Horn and administration staff will continue negotiating the interlocal language and provide precise budget impacts for formal consideration on a future council agenda.
The workshop discussion concluded with council direction to monitor the agreement’s final terms and return with any contract or budget motions when staff have completed the paperwork.
