The City of Oak Harbor Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) met on Tuesday, August 22, and approved the 2024 Lodging Tax / Tourism Promotion grant cycle.
Applications will be accepted August 30, 2023 through 4:30 pm on September 13, 2023. Applications will be available by 9:00 am on Monday, August 28 through the City’s LTAC website: oakharbor.gov/ltac. Non-profit and other tourism-related organizations are encouraged to apply for this grant funding.
The purpose of the City of Oak Harbor’s Tourism Promotion Fund Allocation Process is to promote tourism activities within the City of Oak Harbor. Eligibility is defined broadly to encourage wide participation and innovative proposals. The source of the funds is the City's share of sales taxes collected on overnight stays within the City of Oak Harbor (lodging tax) as well as an additional lodging tax as authorized under State statutes. Recommendations on the use of the funds are developed by the LTAC and are referred to the Oak Harbor City Council for approval.
The desired outcome of activities funded with lodging tax revenue is to increase economic activity in the City of Oak Harbor resulting from tourists. The City of Oak Harbor created the LTAC following the State’s adoption of RCW 67.28.1817. The committee reviews and comments on proposals for expenditures from the City's Lodging Tax Fund. They then submit their recommended awards to City Council for review and approval.
Allowable uses for the lodging tax funds may be used, directly by any municipality or indirectly through a convention and visitor’s bureau or destination marketing organization for tourism marketing; marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists; operations and capital expenditures of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by a municipality, or a public facilities district or operations of tourism-related facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations (but not capital expenditures).
The Oak Harbor LTAC consists of 7 voting members, which include three collectors of the tax imposed (hotel/motel representatives), three individuals who may be eligible to receive revenue received from the taxes collected, and a Councilmember who serves as the Chair.
The committee will be accepting single-year applications this year. The City Council approved $375,000 for LTAC awards for 2024:
- $211,160 is committed to multi-year awards from the 2023 grant cycle.
- $163,840 will be available for new grants.