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Yukon to ask voters April 7 whether to raise hotel excise tax to 9%
Summary
City Manager Jenna Decard told the Yukon City Council that an April 7 ballot will ask voters to increase the hotel/motel excise tax from 5% to 9%; by ordinance the funds would be restricted to economic development, tourism and parks and recreation, and officials said visitors would primarily pay the tax.
City Manager Jenna Decard announced that Yukon voters will decide April 7 whether to raise the city27s hotel excise tax from the current 5% to 9%. Decard said the tax applies to short-term overnight stays in hotels and motels and is typically paid by visitors, not residents.
Decard told the council that by ordinance 100% of any additional revenue would be restricted for economic development, tourism and parks and recreation rather than general operations. She said the tax currently supports festivals, tourism initiatives and some Main Street improvements and that the increase would let the city reinvest more visitor dollars into those programs.
Council members asked procedural questions; Decard and staff emphasized the tax would not raise sales or property taxes. The manager said the ballot question represents an adjustment to an existing tax rather than the creation of a new charge.
The vote scheduling and ballot language were announced during the staff-report portion of the meeting; no formal council action on the tax itself was recorded at the meeting. The next formal step will be the April 7 election when Yukon voters will decide the measure.
