PCD 2025-05-12 Item 1A - LTAC - Lodging Tax Funding for Starfire Sports

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City of Tukwila Allan Ekberg, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Planning and Community Development FROM: Brandon Miles, Director, Strategic Initiatives CC: Thomas McLeod, Mayor DATE: May 5, 2025 SUBJECT: Lodging Tax Funding Requests ISSUE Review of lodging tax funding request from Starfire Sports to support its marketing and promotional activities for Starfire Sports. BACKGROUND The City collects a 1 % lodging tax on certain qualifying overnight stays in paid accommodations (hotels/motels/Airbnb) in the City. State law limits the use of these funds to tourism promotion'. There is currently just over $1 million in lodging tax funds available for use. The City's Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) reviews all requests for use of lodging tax funds. LTAC then forwards a list of recommended applications to the City Council for its review and consideration. If LTAC does not recommend an application be funded, that application is not forwarded to the City Council. The City Council may approve or deny any of the applications recommended by LTAC. The City Council may also approve an application and increase or decrease the dollar amount awarded2. The City accepts applications on a rolling basis, with the LTAC reviewing requests monthly. 1 RCW 67.28.080 (6) defines "tourism promotion" as "...activities, operations, and expenditures designed to increase tourism, including but not limited to advertising, publicizing, or otherwise distributing information for the purpose of attracting and welcoming tourists; developing strategies to expand tourism; operating tourism promotion agencies; and funding the marketing of or the operation of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists." 2 On August 17, 2016, the Washington State Attorney General's Office issued an informal opinion regarding whether a municipality could change the dollar amounts recommended by the local lodging tax advisory committee. Specifically, the informal opinion states: "When awarding lodging tax revenues pursuant to RCW 67.28.1816(2)(b)(ii), a municipality may award amounts different from the local lodging tax advisory committee's recommended amounts, but only after satisfying the procedural requirements of RCW 67.28.1817(2), according to which the municipality must submit its proposed change to the advisory committee for review and comment at least forty-five days before final action on the proposal."