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Board approves cleanup of Sonoma County TOT community investment policy; $ allocations unchanged
Summary
The Board approved recommendations from a transient occupancy tax (TOT) ad hoc committee to simplify the community investment fund policy into three funding categories and streamline the grant process while leaving allocation amounts unchanged.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted Sept. 16 to approve updates to the county's community investment fund policy for transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue, concluding work by a TOT policy ad hoc committee established earlier this year.
McCall Miller, an administrative analyst in the County Administrator's Office, presented the ad hoc's recommendations alongside Peter Brueland and Kristen Harrell. Miller said the proposed policy reorganizes existing allocations into three categories'county department funding, district priorities and community funding'with the goal of improving readability and streamlining the application process. Miller said there are no changes to the allocation amounts themselves.
Supervisor remarks and policy intent: Supervisor Gore, who co-chaired the ad hoc, framed the work as "good government cleanup," saying the policy had accumulated multiple ad-hoc changes and inconsistent definitions over time and that consolidating categories would make priorities clearer. Gore said some ongoing allocations that effectively function as regular department budgets could be shifted into the general fund for easier long-term fiscal management.
Staff clarifications requested and provided: County staff clarified that district formation funds may be used for enhanced infrastructure financing districts (EIFDs) and that any consolidation of grant processes would not delay applications already in process. Staff also told the Board that dollar caps per grantee would remain at each supervisor's discretion and would not be set centrally by policy.
Public comment: Several members of the public expressed concern about non-tourism uses of TOT funds and questioned whether the policy could be used for discretionary "pay-to-play" activities. One commenter alleged misuse of TOT funds for politically favorable grants; the Board responded with a clarification that Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) funds are restricted to operational uses (facility rentals, translation, web streaming) rather than discretionary payouts to individuals.
Vote: A motion to approve the policy updates passed on a roll call vote. The Board directed staff to proceed with the consolidated policy and to return with any requested clarifications as needed.
What changed and what didn't: The updates reorganize and simplify policy language and grant categories; they do not change the total amounts allocated to the existing programs. The ad hoc also recommended that the Board consider in the future whether some recurring allocations should be moved into the general fund for long-term budgeting flexibility.
Next steps: Staff will implement the consolidated grant process if the policy is adopted, continue to honor grants already in process, and work with supervisors on any district-specific caps or priorities.
