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Washington County schedules public hearing on raising short‑term rental tax; cigarette tax tabled for more study
Summary
Board authorized a public hearing on changes to the county transient occupancy (short‑term rental) ordinance including a $600 annual reporting exemption and a proposed rate increase from 5% to 7% (estimated additional revenue about $100,000). A separate proposed cigarette/tobacco tax was tabled to the next meeting so a proposed rate can be included for public notice.
On May 14 the Washington County Board of Supervisors held first readings on two proposed local tax ordinances.
Brandon Snodgrass summarized proposed amendments to Chapter 58 governing the transient occupancy tax (the tax applied to short‑term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO). The draft includes a reporting threshold so hosts with less than $600 in annual gross revenue would report once a year rather than monthly, and staff discussed raising the current 5% tax rate to 7%. Snodgrass described the reporting change this way: "if you rent... less than $600 in revenue per year, then you only have to report 1 time a year in January 20 instead of every month having to report if you don't have any income to report." Staff and constitutional officers recommended 7%; county staff estimated a 2 percentage‑point increase could generate roughly $100,000 in additional revenue.
The board voted to authorize the county attorney to schedule a public hearing on the proposed transient occupancy ordinance (motion moved by Mr. Guelph, seconded by Mr. Stevenson); the vote was recorded as 6–1. The hearing will allow public input on both the proposed rate change and the new reporting threshold.
Separately the board held a first reading of an ordinance to establish a cigarette/tobacco tax. Members discussed whether a proposed rate must be included in the published notice for a valid hearing; after procedural discussion the board voted to table the item to the next regular meeting and directed staff and board members to prepare a proposed rate and supporting information for public notice.
