Amid rising costs at the Clatsop County Jail, county staff and commissioners are considering an increase in the lodging taxes on hotels, motels and vacation rentals.

For years, the county has collected a lodging tax, 70% of which by state law goes toward tourism promotion and 30% of which is available as discretionary funding. The county raised its tax rate in 2018 to address tourism-related impacts on jail operations and expenses, but those expenses have since exceeded expectations.

On Oct. 9, County Manager Don Bohn told commissioners jail costs have risen by $3.2 million since 2018 due to an increased number of beds, staff, medical expenses and other factors like inflation. During that time period, the county built a new, $23.8 million-bond financed jail in Warrenton to replace the aging and chronically overcrowded jail in Astoria. The new jail opened last year.

“The jails are the biggest risk for the county. We have a constitutional and a moral responsibility to take care of folks that are in our custody … making sure that they have health care, making sure that they’re safe,” Bohn said at a county Board of Commissioners meeting. “And the sheriff certainly lives up to those responsibilities and to staff who do a great job, but the reality is, operating jails has become more complex, not less.”

Financial strains

Sheriff Matt Phillips shared similar concerns. The 2018 tax increase was expected to generate $420,000 for the jail. That number has grown to $600,000, but the jail has still seen financial strains as it’s worked to provide services like medication-assisted substance abuse treatment.

“Over time, we’ve definitely seen the condition of people in jail decline. People have more serious and persistent health issues and substance abuse issues,” Phillips said. “The moral consideration is really important to us here. When you think about jails, we’re supposed to be a place of change, we’re supposed to be changing people’s behaviors, and I think that custody alone hasn’t always provided the changes that we’re looking for.”

Bohn said the county’s tourism economy ties into those challenges. A significant portion of the sheriff’s office’s workload — 35% — is attributable to visitors.

Thirty-five percent of the jail’s $3.2 million increase in costs is about $1.1 million. Based on that figure and an additional financial need for courthouse security enhancements, Bohn said the county is looking at about a $1.2 million revenue gap. County staff are proposing a 1.5% increase to both the countywide and unincorporated lodging tax rates to cover the gap.

Commissioners were generally supportive of the proposal, noting their desire to address lodging providers specifically rather than increasing taxes for all constituents.

“This has been several years in the making,” Mark Kujala, the board chair, said. “We’ve done our due diligence, looking at all types of alternatives and exploring all possibilities. When you have 35% of your adults in custody are nonresidents, you can’t put that on residents in Clatsop County.”

Commissioner Courtney Bangs felt similarly.

“I support the direction that we’re going with passing the cost of some of these situations off onto our tourism, because our tourism is what is causing 30 to 35% of what we’re dealing with,” Bangs said. “And so I think I can comfortably support that. I prefer it much better this way than to ever talk about increasing taxes for our constituents for things that are happening to us that we can’t control. I feel like we’re already getting choked enough, and I don’t want our constituents to be choked further.”

Commissioners also acknowledged the county’s position as it anticipates budget shortfalls from the state’s habitat conservation plan. Commissioner Lianne Thompson, who represents the southern portion of the county, described the situation as a financial “squeeze.” Although she doesn’t want a tax increase to come as a surprise to hotel and vacation rental owners in areas like Cannon Beach and Arch Cape, she said she sees the option as one of the few decisions the county has control over as it braces for unknowns.

“The squeeze is on,” Thompson said. “How do we respond to that? This seems to be the only way we get a little bit of breathing room. But we have to continue all of the efforts that all of us are working on to build up, to fortify our economy, our people, and diversify our place.”

Public hearings

Looking ahead, the Board of Commissioners will hold two public hearings before voting whether to approve the change. Although a “yes” vote would bring lodging taxes up, it would still leave the countywide rate lower than a number of other counties and would bring the unincorporated rate closer to incorporated areas of the county.

A 1.5% increase would bring the countywide and unincorporated rates up to 2.5% and 11%.

Due to state-imposed limitations on levies and annual growth rates, Bohn said it can be difficult to keep up with services and service levels in the community. As the county looks to the future, he sees the need for a shift in the lodging tax to fill the gaps.

“We can’t really wait for solutions that may or may not come, because every year that we wait for a solution to come is a year that we’re going to fall a little bit further behind,” Bohn said.