Fresno County board directs staff to pursue transient-occupancy tax for unincorporated areas

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 10 unanimously directed county staff to move forward with analysis, public outreach and ordinance drafting to put a transient occupancy tax (TOT) before voters for lodging in unincorporated areas.

County Administrative Office staff framed the discussion as preliminary and not an adoption of a tax. "At this stage, your board is not establishing a tax, not approving an ordinance, nor is it committing the county to placing a measure before the voters," Budget Director Paige Benavides told the board. She and CAO Paul outlined a tight timeline that would aim to place a measure on the November 2026 ballot if the board proceeds.

Staff said TOT typically applies to short‑term lodging of 30 days or less — hotels, motels, tourist homes, short‑term vacation rentals and RV stays — and would not apply to residents in their primary or long‑term homes. Preliminary revenue estimates provided by the county's consultant range from about $3.0 million at an 8% rate to about $5.3 million at 14%, based on an estimate of roughly 1,600 hotel and campground units and about 665 short‑term rental units.

Tourism advocate Lisa Olivera of Visit Fresno County told the board she supports implementation and described the charge as a visitor‑paid revenue source. "We think that this should be implemented in Fresno County and is paid by the visitor and something that supports the county," Olivera said.

Supervisors asked how short‑term rental platforms would be handled and whether platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO would share listings. Benavides said the county could contract with a collections firm and follow models used by cities: "There is a mechanism in place that we can contract with ... to have a collections company do that on our behalf."

Supervisors emphasized the measure would proceed to voters if the board approves moving forward. Supervisor Pacheco said the tax would apply to visitors and not people who reside in the area: "It is for rentals. It's for hotels. It's for visitors, not people who are residing here." Several supervisors said timing is a concern because multiple measures may appear on the 2026 ballot.

The board voted unanimously to direct staff to proceed with the timeline presented, including drafting an ordinance for public hearings in April, bringing an ordinance and ballot measure to the board in June, conducting outreach July–November, and coordinating with the county clerk and registrar for a November 2026 election if the process continues.

Next steps include more detailed revenue projections, analysis of administrative and collection costs, and potential craft of a proposed use for any revenues the board might later designate.