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Seaside to move tourism-related payments to lodging tax, freeing business-license revenue for streets
Summary
Council approved first and second readings to amend the city code so tourism-eligible payments (Chamber, downtown association, convention-center capital) will be funded from Transient Lodging Tax rather than business-license fees; budget committee recommended using about $580,000 of freed general revenue for street maintenance.
The Seaside City Council at its May 11 meeting approved first and second readings of an ordinance to change how business-license fee revenue is distributed.
Under the existing code, a portion of business-license revenue is earmarked each year for tourism-related payments to the Chamber of Commerce, the Seaside Downtown Development Association (SDDDA) and the convention center capital-improvement fund. Staff proposed amending the distribution so that tourism-eligible expenditures are paid from Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) receipts while making business-license receipts available as flexible general-fund revenue.
The budget committee supported the change during budget deliberations and recommended directing roughly $580,000 of the newly flexible revenue toward increased street maintenance funding in the coming year. Staff said the change would not reduce current payments to Chamber or SDDDA; the recommended resolution accompanying final adoption would budget specific amounts for those organizations from TLT.
Councilors and staff emphasized the legal and practical rationale: TLT is an appropriate funding source for tourism-promotion and downtown services, while business-license revenue is a more general local revenue stream that can better support general-purpose needs such as streets. Staff also told council that the change requires an ordinance update to the code and a companion resolution to formalize the budget allocations.
Council members asked for continued clarity about funding amounts and for the process to ensure Chamber and SDDDA support and understood the change. Both organizations had representatives at the meeting and were told the intent was to preserve prior support levels while moving the funding stream.
Council approved first and second readings and scheduled final action in the near-term budget calendar; staff recommended adoption of a companion resolution to record the intended allocations once the ordinance is finalized.
