Page 40 - Sonoma County Gazette 12-18.indd

Are We Getting Our Fair Share of the Tourist Tax?
Parade of Lights on December 1st: There’s a pulsating joy- making parade down Guerneville’s Main Street. Dazzling floats accompanied by toothy grins and a river of pleasure drift lazily through our transformed burg. CEO and founder of D & G Equity Management, Michael DeProto, offers Guernevillians an experience of a lifetime. Don’t miss D & G’s Annual Holiday Party & Social with Hors D’oeuvres Hot Chocolate, Spiced Apple Cider. Monetary donations for the Russian River Community Food Pantry are welcome! They contribute 100% of the proceeds. 6:30pm at D & G Equity Management, 14080 Mill Street, corner of 4th & Mill St., Downtown Guerneville, 707-869-0623,
There is always a lot of talk about how the West County generates the lion’s share of the Transient Occupancy Tax, or TOT tax. For anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it’s a bed tax that hotels and vacation rentals in Sonoma County charge their guests. It was 9% of the rental rate until Measure L
was approved by the voters in 2016, which increased the tax rate to 12%. It’s important to remember the additional 3%, or Measure L funds are supposed to be used to offset the impacts of tourism on our communities; however per State law the original 9% is discretionary.
Sometimes, if you’re not paying attention, things will sneak up on you that might possibly diminish the quality of your life. Like a 120 room hotel with some 82,000 sq. ft. of new structures and all the attendant ills which would accompany a 9.7 acre full-service resort on verdant Hulbert Creek.... less than a mile west of Guerneville.
The 5th District that encompasses the unincorporated Lower River resort and Coastal areas generates about 40% of the approximately $18.3m a year in TOT tax, not including the additional $4m generated by AIRBNB throughout the entire County. The total TOT revenue to the County including AIRBNB for fiscal year 2017-18 is about $22.3m, however the additional $4m in AIRBNB revenue is not broken down by district, therefore it is difficult to determine how much of that is being generated by the 5th District. It would likely bump up the number to about 47%, or $10.5m.
Guests, dozens of employees in need of housing, incessant comings and goings, increased noise and
light pollution, delivery and service folk, water and other resource usage, a huge increase in trash, traffic, increased pollution .....interminable waits in traffic on the officially designated scenic highway fought for by Lenny Weinstein et al for most of a decade.
The allocation breakdowns (as best that it could be determined based on the reports provided) indicate the money is distributed in the following ways:
• 33% of total goes into the County’s General Fund (a recent increase
approved by the Board from the previous 25%)
• $10.1m funds County Departments
• $2.1m goes to Sonoma County Tourism Bureau
• $1.5m used for Measure L (Fire Services, Tourism Impact Funds)
• $1.5m is left for Grant Funds that are allocated to various things in specific
The zoning on this parcel notwithstanding, as a 40-year resident of the lower river, I think it’s an unwelcome and environmentally unfriendly intrusion.
districts
• 5th District directly received $310k in Grant Funds, though may have also
received some of the additional $500k in Workforce Grants allocated
throughout the County (again, no specific break down provided) The TOT tax was addressed by the Board of Supervisors as an agenda
Yes. I was raised in da Heights and thought I’d put gridlock, excessive noise and uncaring humanity (for the most part) behind me. Who knew?
item on November 13th. The 5th District was well represented with members of the Guerneville Community Alliance, the Guernewood Neighborhood Association, Friends and Residents of Guerneville (FROG), and others from Forestville to Cazadero in attendance. There was also a contingency
This unwelcome sprawl would
virtually adjoin Dubrava Village, a mid-80s Kirk Lok venture which, despite long and loud protests, chewed up second growth timber and threadbare tempers despite the efforts of (among others) local heroes Linda Lucey and Dian Hardy.
of Fire Department representatives from Forestville and Bodega Bay fire departments. Many speakers stood up and made their pitch to the Board.
Bodega Bay Fire representatives spoke of how in addition to generating much more TOT tax than other areas in the County, their property owners pay an additional $524 a year for Fire Department services that other areas do not pay. Their Department covers a huge remote area, and sometimes does not have the resources it needs to respond to emergency calls for service. Most of their resources are being used responding to emergencies involving tourists, who do not pay property taxes in Sonoma County, leaving property tax payers footing the bill, and being left without adequate emergency services.
Free Eats?! One more thing to be thankful for is the fruit, veggies, canned goods and much more handed out to whomever, no questions asked, at Guerneville’s Vets Hall from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and at St. Andrews in Monte Rio from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., courtesy of the Redwood Empire Food Bank and dispensed by Sabrina and Chuck.
The Board of Supervisors primarily discussed and agreed that the TOT tax allocation is too complicated and needs to be updated and simplified. The Board agreed to postpone the matter to be revisited after the 1st of the year.
As a special learning-to-make-choices teaching tool, students at Guerneville school 2nd grade and up will be able to have the food-choosing experience too.
After attending the meeting, asking all the questions, and reviewing all the reports provided, I’m left with the same question I started with. How much of the approximately $10.5m in TOT tax that the 5th District generates is being spent in the 5th District? The answer is, I don’t know...and that’s the point. Maybe we should try to get this question answered?
Bingo The inimitable may-they-live-forever Russian River Sisters upcoming Bingo will benefit Monte Rio based Dogma Animal Rescue which has long focused on caring for abandoned and indigent nursing bitches and puppies and tirelessly worked to take care of their medical and nutritional needs and their overall well-being. And Dogma recently instituted a special needs medical program.
If you would like to be notified when the TOT tax issue is again addressed by the BOS, e-mail susan.upchurch@sonoma-county.org. When contacting the Board of Supervisors, remember—it’s not just our 5th District Supervisor that we have to convince, as that is just one vote. E-mails should be addressed to all five Supervisors.
Also sharing in the booty will be PAWS, whose adoption program called “Silver Paws for Love” which provides financial assistance to local seniors who adopt a pet 6 years or older.
If you would like to learn more about the Lower River Area Community Alliances, become involved as a volunteer, or if you have some community concerns or solutions you would like to share, you can “like” our Guerneville Community Alliance and/or Russian River Alliance FB pages, or visit our website at russianriveralliance.org. You can also contact Jeniffer Wertz at 707-483-7038 (Guerneville), or Chuck Ramsey at 707-239-1639 (Monte Rio).
40 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 12/18
Sisters Bingo itself is an enormous hoot what with table-pounding octogenarians screaming for more s___ and trying to hear instructions for the next bingo game. Two packs of bingo cards for $20, must be 18+ to play, no alcohol or strong scents please, pizza, nachos, chips brownies, soda available, Advance ticket holders admitted 5:30 p.m. all others, 6 p.m.
Warning: If you yell “Bingo!” and you’re mistaken or if your cell phone makes noises you must suffer consequences such as being daubed by players.
There’s always a costume contest relating to that night Bingo’s theme. And please leave your guns at home. After all It’s only Bingo.