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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 2017)
6A • January 13, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Room tax to include fees Tax from Page 1A Herdener said the state and many Oregon cities col- lect tax on nonoptional fees. “It was assumed that we did and it was pointed out in the audit that we don’t,” she said. “We’re trying to rectify that situation.” Portland, Lincoln City, Bend and Eugene are among cities that apply the room tax to nonoptional fees, Finance Director Laurie Sawrey said. In Cannon Beach, hotel guests pay an 8 percent city tax and 1.8 percent state tax to the hotel. The hotel for- wards to the city 95 percent of the tax paid by the custom- er and keeps 5 percent of the amount, Sawrey said. However, Cannon Beach’s interpretation of room rent is different from other Clatsop County cities. Astoria and Seaside do not collect room taxes on nonoptional fees. Astoria lodging operators are taxed based on the total room rents they report to the city, said Sue Dohaniuk, the city’s financial operations supervi- sor. Requirements create confusion After a routine audit, Can- non Beach learned that seven out of 10 lodging operators had not paid tax on nonop- tional fees. Lodging operators were informed in a September letter from the city that tax collection should include such LYRA FONTAINE/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The City Council asked staff to prepare a draft amendment of city code clarifying that non- optional fees should be included in the room tax. fees. The city also asked hote- liers for their state lodging tax returns out of convenience so they would not need to fill out an additional form, Herdener said. After receiving notice in September of the city’s inten- tions, lodging industry mem- bers from 16 local businesses — including Hallmark Resort, Stephanie Inn, Ocean Lodge, Tolovana Inn and Surfsand Resort — asked the city in November to clarify the new requirements through a public process. Sawrey said Tuesday that the letter was not meant to be punitive. “It became clear to me that we weren’t all on the same page,” Sawrey said. “I thought, let’s figure out what our definition is and let every- one know so we can all do the same thing and be consistent.” Representatives from lo- cal hotels and vacation rental companies responded that the city’s interpretation conflicts with municipal code. The city did not want lodg- ing operators to pay for room taxes they did not collect from nonoptional fees. However, Beck-Sweeney said the letter from the city was not clear about when the requirements would take effect, and her business paid tax that they did not collect from guests. The amount was “substantial for a small company,” she said. She has since documented the overpayment. After criticism and con- fusion from lodging opera- tors, city staff recommended the clarification. Councilors LYRA FONTAINE/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE place on county resources, but it could be significant.” Internally, a new compen- sation system is on the county road map. “We have been working for a couple years on revamp- ing our compensation system for county employees, so we’re anticipating that 2017 will be the year that we im- plement that new structure, which again, doesn’t affect the taxpayers or anything,” he said. “But anytime you make significant changes to your compensation structure, there’s a few challenges that go along with that. Externally, there are two challenges on the horizon. “One is, in 2017, we will be doing a review of the county charter, which is the coun- ty government. It opens up county government to po- tentially discuss either small or significant changes to the structure of county govern- ment,” Moore said. “We don’t know where that’s going to go yet, but obviously that’s very important. It’s something we only do once every 10 years. I would say that, probably, you know, certainly is very important. How challenging it will be, we don’t know yet.” Secondly, the commission- ers need to make a decision on the Linn County timber law- suit. “But regardless of which decision they make, we are anticipating that 2017 — may- be all year, I don’t know — but this will be the discovery part of that trial,” Moore said. “What that means for us is, is whether we’re in the lawsuit or whether we’re out of the lawsuit, we’re probably going to have to commit significant county staff time and signifi- cant resources to responding to requests for years of data about timber sales and timber revenues. And we don’t know how much demand that will Seaside Mayor Jay Barber “We have a City Council that works well together and gets things done. One of the significant challenges will be swearing in two new council- ors in the new year, one newly elected and one that the coun- cil will appoint to fill the now vacant councilor seat from Ward 1 and getting them on board and working well with the other four councilors and the mayor. “With the approval of the bond issue for the Seaside School District, it will be in- cumbent upon the Planning Commission and the council to address the expansion of the urban growth boundary in the new year to bring the new campus into the city and work to provide proper access to the new location. “Affordable housing in Clatsop County is a major is- sue that all cities and the coun- ty will need to work together to provide workable solutions. “This is an issue that will require input from the county, cities, local businesses, devel- opers and concerned citizens. We can learn from other cities and regions where workable solutions are being imple- mented. This issue is rising to the top of my concerns. “Tsunami preparedness continues to be a major is- sue of significant importance. The highest priority is to seek funding for the retrofitting of all of our bridges to assist citi- zens to be able to move to safe ground in the case of a major incident. “In addition we need to continue our thinking about resilience. How will we con- tinue to be a city in the case of a major earthquake and tsu- nami? “Finally, annexation to the south of the city to address blight, vacant and sub-stan- dard housing as well as the need to address access to city water and sewerage.” Gearhart Mayor Matt Brown “As you know Gearhart has gone through a handful of contentious issues the last few years, so I hope 2017 brings a sense of calmness and cooper- ation, working together with our citizens and other cities in Balzer from Page 1A to express her criticism of board members on social media websites and in her speech.” Balzer alleged that the district and board violated his free association rights, in that Balzer’s “intimate association with his wife” is entitled to protection under the First Amendment. Balzer stated in his com- plaint that the board’s ac- tions led to damages to his reputation and standing in the community. He sought compensation of almost $678,000 and reinstatement of his duties and benefits. The three directors named in the lawsuit pre- vailed in a special recall election in April 2016. Af- ter interim chiefs Jim Stea- rns and Frank Swedenborg, Matt Benedict was hired and has served as the fire chief since June. Sheriff’s office and police investigating directed staff to draft a code amendment for the February council meeting. By Erick Bengel Clatsop County to solve com- mon problems, such as afford- able housing. I’m looking forward to having work sessions with our fellow councilors in the months to come to work on strategic planning for the next four years and prioritizing what is important to our res- idents. I hope this includes working on a new fire station plan, emergency preparedness and a transportation master plan. “Also, looking forward to working with city staff to find better ways to commu- nicate with our citizens in- cluding building a new city of Gearhart interactive website, scheduling town hall meet- ings and getting folks more involved in the process and decision making. “It’s great to work with our amazing city staff and depart- ment heads and I look forward to a very positive and con- structive 2017 for Gearhart!” COASTER THEATRE 45 TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON Motion to dismiss Both parties were able to get the case resolved following U.S. District Court depositions in October. The motion to dismiss the case was submitted by Ronald Downs, representing the fire district and board of directors. Charges in the case that the directors had violated Balzer’s due process and free associa- tion rights were not addressed in the court ruling. The deci- sion also did not address claims that the district had muzzled comments of Balzer’s wife on Facebook. Among the terms of the settlement, Balzer will not be returning to the fire district as an employee. “That ship has sailed,” Snyder said. “I would say that Mr. Balzer is pleased with the resolution. He is pleased that he engaged in this process and that it resulted in a satis- factory outcome for him.” County hit by flood of vehicle break-ins Marty Schwab Harris crit- icized the “tax hike” on room rent as lacking public discussion. County leaders make plans for future Leaders from Page 1A Balzer, fire district settle lawsuit For EO Media Group On Christmas Day, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Of- fice was flooded with calls related to vehicle breaks-in that occurred in Svensen and Knappa. In one case, a Svensen man lost about $4,000 worth of custom-made steelhead fishing rods. The string of thefts “prob- ably happened Christmas Eve night and into the early morn- ing hours of Christmas,” Sgt. Jason Hoover, of the Sheriff’s Office, said. Then, on New Year’s Eve, rural Warrenton from roughly Ridge Road to Sunset Beach got hit with more than a dozen similar crimes, including one involving a victim who had about $500 in cash stolen. More than 30 incidents of unauthorized motor vehicle entry have been reported since Christmas Eve — and those are just the county cases. As- toria, Warrenton and Seaside police are also investigating a series of thefts from vehicles, according to Hoover. “Most of the time, when you have one or two, you start having kind of a surge of them,” he said. In all but a few cases, the victims left their vehicles unlocked, and in darkened driveways, according to a Sheriff’s Office release. “And they’re leaving some very valuable items inside of those vehicles,” said Hoover, who is investigating the case with Deputy Nate Baldwin. 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