PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council has revised the distribution of lodging tax dollars, aiming for a more balanced approach to supporting local tourism.

Organizations applying for lodging tax operational funds can now only request an amount that’s either 15 percent of their operating budget or $100,000—whichever is greater. Additionally, event funding has been capped at $10,000 per year for all events, regardless of their duration. Previously, new events could apply for $10,000 annually, while those running for six or more years were limited to $5,000.

The council also updated the process for how the city’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) reviews funding requests. Now, the city attorney’s office will screen all applications to ensure they meet eligibility requirements before they go to the LTAC.

Councilmember Navara Carr, who chairs the lodging tax committee, commented on the challenges of allocating the funds.

“Lodging tax is a really difficult committee to be on because you have really high highs and low lows. On the one hand, you get to fund the organizations that do so much good in the community and provide a lot of opportunities, not just for tourists but for community members. But on the other hand, you have to tell a lot of organizations ‘no,’ for a wide variety of reasons. A lot of it is that there are more organizations that want funding than funding available,” Carr told the council during this week’s meeting.

Councilmember Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin sees an opportunity to expand tourism beyond the busy summer season, highlighting the new Field Arts & Events Hall as a key player in building a year-round tourism economy for Port Angeles.

“We look at other cities that have facilities very comparable to Field Hall, and most of them allocate a major percentage of their LTAC funding to that facility. We haven’t yet gone there as a city. I think we need to. I think it’s crucial to support Field Hall early on, and I think that’s a much better outcome than assuming, ‘they can do it on their own without LTAC funding,’ and facing the consequences if that’s not true,” Schromen-Wawrin said.

Lodging tax dollars are mandated by state law to promote tourism and are generated by a 2 percent excise tax on lodging stays of less than 30 days. In 2023, this tax brought in about $1.327 million for the city.

These funds are allocated across various tourism-related activities, including marketing, nonprofit operations, events, and even construction or renovations aimed at improving tourism infrastructure.