Klamath County voters reject bed tax increase that would have funded tourism

Although 70% of Klamath County voters voted against ballot measure 18-120, which would’ve raised the transient room tax in the county from 8% to 11%, one group that was opposed to the measure said the results in their favor wasn’t a win.

“Nobody won tonight,” said Kate Marquez, chair of the Citizens for Responsible Government. “We need a public process that begins with gathering stakeholders, and we need a measure that clearly states where the funds will be spent.”

Citizens for Responsible Government isn’t opposed to raising the room tax rate. The group instead encouraged no votes because of the vague language in the measure that earmarks 30% of the increase for “county services,” with the other 70% going to tourism promotion, through agencies like Discover Klamath.

“We would like to see a measure that would support Discover Klamath’s efforts,” said Todd Kepple with the opposition group. “And this wasn’t it.”

Read more: https://www.heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/klamath-county-voters-reject-bed-tax-increase-that-would-have-funded-tourism/article_a49a7071-be59-5e5b-8be8-1f708ca10afa.html
(Klamath Falls Herald and News)