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Taft council approves 25% transient-occupancy-tax allocation to Chamber, asks staff for five-year totals
Summary
The Taft City Council voted 4–0 on April 7 to allocate 25% of transient-occupancy-tax (TOT) revenue for the Oct–Dec 2025 quarter to the Taft Chamber of Commerce and asked staff to report back with the last five fiscal years of similar allocations.
The Taft City Council voted 4–0 on April 7 to approve a 25% allocation of transient-occupancy-tax revenue to the Taft Chamber of Commerce for the quarter covering October through December 2025.
Councilmember Cryer spoke in favor of the Chamber’s work promoting local vendors and tourism, saying the organization ‘‘deserves what they’re receiving’’ and noting the behind-the-scenes effort to support local businesses. Another councilmember asked staff to return with a report showing how much TOT funding the council has provided the Chamber in each of the last five fiscal years; council members gave concurrence to that request before the roll-call vote.
The vote followed brief discussion about the origins of the practice and an acknowledgment that recent motel activity increased TOT receipts. The motion passed on a 4–0 roll call with one absence. The council asked city staff to provide the five-year history of TOT disbursements to the Chamber at a later meeting.
What this means: The allocation moves a quarter’s portion of local TOT to the Chamber to support promotion and events and leaves a public record request in the meeting minutes for staff to quantify prior disbursements. No changes to TOT rates were proposed at the meeting.
Next steps: Staff will prepare the requested five-year TOT-disbursement history for council review at a subsequent meeting.
