Westminster voters will decide this November whether to raise their city’s transient occupancy tax from 8% to 12%.
The 4% increase to the city’s transient occupancy tax, paid on overnight stays by hotel guests, would take in an estimated $452,000 annually into city coffers, Measure O says.
Measure O, which the City Council decided in July should be placed on the ballot, does not dedicate revenue to a specific city program, but the city says funds could go toward “supporting fire, paramedic, police services, 911 emergency response and disaster preparedness, keeping public areas safe and clean, addressing homelessness, maintaining parks and supporting city programs for youth and seniors.”
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And “proceeds of the tax must be audited annually by an independent certified public accountant, and the report of that audit is a public record,” according to an impartial analysis of the proposed measure for the ballot penned by City Attorney Scott Porter.
The city last updated its hotel tax in 1983; its current rate of 8% is “the lowest among the Orange County and Los Angeles County cities surveyed in the City’s staff report,” according to the city.
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No arguments for or against Measure O were submitted to appear on the ballot.
A simple majority of voters in favor is needed for the measure to pass.