The Newport City Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 17, 2021, during
its regularly scheduled City Council meeting to take public comment on a potential
increase of the transient room tax imposed by the city to 12%. The current transient room
tax rate is 9.5% for hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and campgrounds. The meeting will
begin at 6:00 P.M., and the agenda will be accessible on the city website at
www.newportoregon.gov, at the close of business on May 13, 2021.
Over the past three years, the Newport City Council tasked its Finance Work Groups
with developing a system for projecting the city’s long-range financial condition; identifying
options to address the structural deficit in the General Fund by reducing expenditures
and/or increasing revenues; and developing a five-year financial plan for the city that
achieves financial sustainability during this period. In addition, the Work Groups reviewed estimates of future funding needed to properly maintain the 48 public structures and facilities supported by the General Fund.
These community amenities include the Library, Performing Arts Center, Visual Arts Center,
Recreation Center, 60+ Center, numerous parks and trails, fire stations, city hall, airport,
and other key pieces of the infrastructure, some of which currently require significant
reinvestment at this stage in order to extend their life spans. The city has a significant gap
in meeting the estimated cost of replacing roofs, windows, and siding, and interior
maintenance while also funding other required needs for the its many facilities. These are
the very amenities that make Newport a special place for its residents and visitors. The
Finance Work Group outlined a number of steps for the city to increase revenues while
maintaining control of expenses. These measures will not, by themselves, address the
significant financial requirements needed for the next five-year period and beyond.
The Finance Work Groups reviewed options to address this issue recognizing that the
city already significantly reduced expenditures in the current fiscal year as part of its
COVID-19 budget, including the elimination of 22 full-time-equivalent positions effective
on July 1, 2020, and the mandatory furlough of all non-represented employees for a period
of 12 days from July to December of 2020.
After reviewing opportunities to reduce expenses, the Finance Work Groups focused
on revenue options that would share the burden of financing government services and
facilities between residents and visitors using city services. While many cities resort to the
use of special tax levies, public safety fees, and other charges on utility bills to meet
financial needs, the Finance Work Group recommended that the city focus on
mechanisms to draw revenues from all users of the city’s infrastructure.
The Work Group recommended that the City Council consider increasing the transient room tax, beginning with the fiscal year that starts on July 1, 2021, from the current 9.5% to 12% to fund both tourism promotion and facilities that provide services to visitors, as well as additional support to the General Fund for public safety, general government, and other activities. Instead of imposing a property tax increase or fees on water bills to cover things like public safety or other city programs, which would directly impact property owners, including
hotels, motels, and vacation rentals, the room tax proposal passes that expense on as a
consumer tax instead.
Transient room tax is imposed by cities and counties across Oregon, and under
current state law, 70% is required to be spent on advertising/marketing and tourist
facilities, which benefits lodging properties. ECO Northwest compiled 2018 room tax
information as part of its local transient lodging tax expenditure and administration report.
The room tax rates on the coast are generally higher than in the rest of the state. Coastal
respondent’s transient room tax rates range from 1% for the City of Tillamook to 12% in
Warrenton. Astoria is 11%, unincorporated Clatsop County is 10.5%, Lincoln County,
Rockaway Beach, Seaside, and Tillamook County are at 10%, with Newport at 9.5%, as
reported for 2018.
How can you participate in a City Council meeting during COVID-19 restrictions? City
Council meetings are conducted in a hybrid format. Hybrid meetings are held in the City
Council Chambers of the Newport City Hall. In-person audience size is limited to 15 – 18
people. All virtual public meetings of the City of Newport are livestreamed and televised on
Charter Channel 190. To access the livestream, visit the City of Newport website at
www.newportoregon.gov. Once there, click on “City Government;” then click on “City
Council;” then an “in progress” note will appear if the meeting is underway; click on the “in
progress” link to watch the livestream. It is not possible to get into a meeting that will be
livestreamed before the meeting starts.
If you wish to make a “real time” comment at this public hearing, a request to speak
should be made by noon, on May 17, 2021. The request should be e-mailed to
publiccomment@newportoregon.gov. Once a request to speak has been received, staff
will send the requestor the Zoom meeting link. This link will allow a requestor to participate
via video or telephone. Please note that anyone participating by Zoom will be in the
waiting room until the item the public hearing is opened by the Mayor.
To submit a written public comment for this hearing, e-mail the written comment to
publiccomment@newportoregon.gov. The e-mail must be received by noon on May 17,
2021. Written public comment received by noon on May 17 will be included in the meeting
materials, and acknowledged, at the appropriate time, by the Mayor. If a specific request
is made to read written public comment into the record during a meeting, the City
Recorder, or designee, will be provided a maximum of three minutes to read the comment
during the meeting.
The Finance Work Group report can be found at
We encourage your participation in this public hearing, and look forward to your input.
