Oak Harbor council refers $50,000 Chamber lodging-tax request to advisory committee amid conflict-of-interest concerns

The Oak Harbor City Council on July 21 voted to refer a Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce request for $50,000 in annual lodging-tax funding (for 2027 and 2028) to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) for a comment period and return to council for final action.

Wendy Horn, the city’s grants administrator, outlined the lodging-tax fund balance and projected revenues and said the city currently estimates roughly $598,000 remaining in the fund by the end of 2027 if recent budget assumptions hold and competitive grants of $375,000 are awarded. Horn told council that $325,154 remained to be claimed by grantees as of July 15 and that the chamber had requested an additional $50,000 to offset rising costs for the Independence Day celebration.

Eric Marshall, who identified himself as both executive director of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce and a councilmember, read a letter from the Chamber board president asking the city to assume the annual fireworks expense for two years and outlined the event’s community and economic value. "This year's fireworks display alone cost approximately $40,000," Marshall read. He said the Chamber had not banked on the request and that delaying a decision would not harm the Chamber’s budgeting.

Councilmembers debated whether referring the request to LTAC was the appropriate process and raised concerns about optics because Marshall serves in dual roles. Councilmember Stuckey said he was concerned organizers were being asked to "skip the line" by coming directly to council rather than running the LTAC process; he also said it raised optics concerns because the Chamber executive director is a sitting councilmember. "I have a problem with the process," Stuckey said.

Marshall confirmed he would recuse himself from votes where a direct conflict existed and told the council the referral would not harm the Chamber’s budget. City legal counsel (identified in the meeting as Hillary) advised the council about limiting questions to a conflicted participant to maintain the councilmember’s remote interest and avoid putting them in a position of advocacy while participating.

Councilmember Romero moved to refer the request to LTAC and the council approved the referral to the advisory committee for a 45-day comment period; council discussion included when LTAC would consider the referral (Horn said it might fit on LTAC’s Sept. 2 meeting). The council did not approve direct funding at the meeting; it referred the funding question to the advisory committee for review and return to council.

Notes on transcript voting language: the meeting transcript records the council’s decision to refer the request to LTAC; timing and vote-count references in the transcript were inconsistent in places — the referral was made and the council directed staff to forward the request to LTAC for comment.

The referral does not commit the city to pay the fireworks cost; it directs the lodging-tax advisory process to review the request and provide a recommendation back to council.