{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Tourism Commission seeks to increase assessment","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":390,"description":"December 12, 2022, Sarah Reith — The Board of Supervisors gave a less-than-resounding nod of approval to the first step of an effort to increase tax assessments on businesses that appeal to tourists. \r\n\r\nThe Mendocino County Tourism Commission and a contractor called Civitas Advisors told the Board that they believe the county should allow the Business Improvement District, or BID, to double its assessment from one to two percent on all lodging concerns, including campgrounds. The Commission also wants to evaluate the option of collecting a 1% assessment from what it calls “tourist facing” businesses, including restaurants and tasting rooms. The businesses and local government bodies in the cities and the unincorporated parts of the county would have to agree to the higher rate, which the businesses would pass on to their customers. According to Commission Executive Director Travis Scott, the 2% assessment is an industry standard in northern California. The Commission’s efforts to promote the county are funded by the current 1% assessment, plus fifty cents on the dollar from the county general fund. The proposed higher assessment is intended to save the county money on marketing itself to visitors.\r\n\r\nThe Commission’s final goal is to reconfigure the parameters of the Business Improvement District, including its structure and the length of its contract. But yesterday, Emily Brown, of Civitas, told the Board that all she wants at the moment is access to information about the county sales tax and transient occupancy tax, to see if the plan is even worth pursuing. \r\n\r\nSupervisor Dan Gjerde was skeptical, saying, “You already know exactly how much the existing lodging produces, because you already receive a 1% BID from the existing lodging. The only thing you don’t have now is the assessment on the campgrounds, in terms of lodging. But we have a 10% ToT tax that the county is donating, per voter proposal, to the fire departments. But we already have that data. You...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}