Election day is tomorrow, and the fate of the Jackson Hole Lodging Tax is in Teton County voters' hands. Put plainly, this measure is a tax for Teton County locals that they don’t have to pay. It's designed so that the plethora of tourists visiting contribute to the wellbeing and infrastructure of the community. For example, if a hotel charges a guest $200 for a room, $4 of that is funneled back to a fund for the town. 40% of that fund goes towards the Fire & EMS, Parks & Pathways, and public transportation. The remaining 60% goes toward visitor services which seek to manage the heavy influx of tourism our community receives. None of that money gets appropriated to summer tourism marketing. It is entirely designed to support off-season initiatives.
VIDEO: Why the Lodging Tax Matters to Teton County
Supporters of the measure are diverse. Every single Teton County Democratic and Republican candidate running for Town Council, County Commission, State Senate, and House Districts 16 & 23 support the lodging tax. But it’s more than just politicians; firefighters, a variety of small business owners, and local athletes are vocalizing their support of the measure.
In addition to the infrastructure, there’s another important pillar of the community that relies on this measure: the many local nonprofits
Families that are here year-round benefit most from the lodging tax, when you look and the numbers and expenditures, explains local skier Hadley Hammer.
This is most evident with things like the ski club, in which the tax money goes to helping racers who necessarily can’t afford the costs of ski racing. That money also helps in funding the coaches’ pay. She and her family, who are longtime locals of the area, see this as one of the greatest values of the tax. Should it be eliminated, then these non-profits, ranging from the ski club, SHIFT, to the Dancers Workshop, would be the first to feel the ramifications of its absence.
Local leaders like Travis Rice, raised in Teton County, support the Lodging Tax. Lodging Tax Jackson Hole Photo.
If this is an initiative that you'd like to see moving forward, be sure to get out and vote tomorrow!
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