5A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2018
Tax: State collected more than $145 million in revenue as of 2015
Continued from Page 1A
Opponents say lifting restrictions on
the tax money ultimately defeats the pur-
pose, which is to promote tourism that
generates revenue for cities in the long
term.
In Cannon Beach, Greg Swedenborg,
the president of the chamber’s board, said
the chamber is open to the idea but needs
more specifics.
“I think it addresses an area that Can-
non Beach has a need for. But it’s not just
buying the school. You have to consider
operating costs before you can make a
decision,” Swedenborg said. “Whether
it’s used for the arts or as a conference
center, sure, we could use that. But will
it benefit year-round business? Is it doing
what the intent of the law is, which is
making it a place that regenerates that
transient lodging tax?”
‘Loved to death’
A state law passed in 2003 imposed
a 1 percent lodging tax increase, with 70
percent of the revenue collected restricted
to tourism promotion and tourism-related
facilities.
As a fundraising mechanism, the law
has done its job. The Oregon Department
of Revenue collected more than $145 mil-
lion in revenue as of 2015. Cannon Beach
in 2016 alone received $3.8 million in
lodging tax revenue.
But Wendy Johnson, an intergovern-
mental relations associate with the League
of Oregon Cities, said some cities are
having a hard time keeping up with the
demand that tourism promotion creates.
“A lot of communities are spending a
lot on marketing and are getting loved to
death,” Johnson said. “Cities rely on tour-
ism for their economy and they want to be
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
LEFT: A mural created by students adorns the walls of the former Cannon
Beach Elementary School. RIGHT: The former elementary school in Cannon
Beach sits unused. BELOW: Tourists flock to Cannon Beach in the summer,
which adds lodging tax dollars to the local economy.
a welcoming place. But they also have a
strapped budget, and they want more flex-
ibility to use those revenues. This law is
one size fits all, and every city has differ-
ent expenditures and needs.”
A survey done by the league asked
46 cities how each would prefer to spend
lodging tax revenue. Johnson said the top
responses were city beautification, public
safety and transportation improvements
— all issues related to a booming tourism
industry.
“We just disagree with what tour-
ism-related means,” Johnson said. “You
don’t have a good event if you have a traf-
fic jam or not enough cops to keep it safe.
They won’t come back.”
In the last legislative session, John-
son said she pushed to broaden what can
be considered a tourism facility, which is
defined as a conference center, convention
center, visitor information center or other
property with the substantial purpose of
supporting tourism.
“Right now the law says it has to be
real property, and has to have a use of 10
years. So maybe you can’t cover flowers,
but maybe you could fix a light post,” she
said. “We think it should help with beau-
tification issues, but the definition is too
narrow. We think it should include any-
thing that makes the experience better for
the tourist.”
The proposal didn’t make it out of
committee in Salem. Johnson said she
hopes to continue working with the lodg-
ing industry to find a solution.
“The growth in Oregon has been
great,” she said. “But at what point do you
have a destination that’s no longer a desti-
nation because it’s been loved to death?”
Return on investment
Jason Brandt, CEO of the Oregon
Restaurant & Lodging Association, argues
a city already can use 30 percent of the
lodging tax on general city needs, and that
public infrastructure isn’t a reliable met-
ric to help define tourism-related facilities.
Redirecting the tax money to capital
projects or maintenance takes away from
the “big picture” of what it takes to sup-
port Oregon’s second-largest industry,
Brandt said.
“The reality is, whenever we don’t
put that dollar out for promotion, and
instead for a local investment for a capi-
tal improvement, in a way we are shooting
ourselves in a foot,” Brandt said. “We are
using a long-term investment strategy for
a short-term challenge a community may
be facing.”
That investment, Brandt said, is sup-
ported by a report from Longwoods
International, which shows for every $1
invested in tourism promotion, $237 is
generated in economic impact and $11
in tax revenue to the benefit of Oregon
residents.
The concept of “how much tourism
is too much tourism” looks different for
each community and should be solved on
a local level, Brandt said.
But investing in tourism over time is
a greater benefit to city’s general fund, he
said.
“I can’t emphasize how strong the tour-
ism economy can be if we focus on tour-
ism promotion and less on maintenance
backlogs,” he said.
In Cannon Beach, since the Cham-
ber of Commerce has been the recipient
of 70 percent of the lodging tax dollars,
the amount of taxes paid to the city has
increased by double digits almost every
quarter.
“We can’t claim it all,” Swedenborg
said. “Good weather, good economy goes
into growth, as well. But before the con-
tract the city would see maybe 4 percent
or 6 percent growth. When we started you
are seeing around 16 percent or 10 percent
increases (in the lodging tax revenue). We
think we have something to do with that.”
Sea lions: Wild winter steelhead run reached a low of around 500 fish last year
Continued from Page 1A
One sea lion swam the 230
miles in less than four days
— a rate of about 3 miles an
hour.
Wright said that sup-
ports the state’s argument
that lethal removal will be
necessary to protect the
dwindling wild winter steel-
head run, which reached a
low of around 500 fish last
year.
“It would be great if we
could just take them to the
coast and they could stay
there, but that’s not what
we’ve found,” Wright said. “I
wish it were that simple.”
The states of Oregon
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trap last week and was eutha-
nized on Thursday.
According to the Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife,
other sea lions with a doc-
umented record of killing
salmon and steelhead near
SCHEDULE
THE DAILY
ASTORIAN
A
and Washington have been
lethally removing sea lions
from below Bonneville Dam
on the Columbia River since
2008. One of the sea lions on
the lethal removal list turned
up in the Willamette Falls
Bonneville Dam may also be
killed if they are captured in
the Willamette Falls trap.
A decision on additional
lethal removals at Willamette
Falls isn’t expected until the
end of this year.
Evening listings
THURSDAY
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