The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) filed a lawsuit this week against the City of Albany in Linn County Circuit Court.

ORLA contends the city has not reinvested lodging tax dollars originally used to pay off the remaining debt for the Linn County Fair & Expo Center back into tourism promotions and/or other tourism-related facilities as required by state law.

“ORLA, on behalf of our local lodging and restaurant operators, has done everything we can to find agreement with city administrators for over a year in hopes of avoiding legal action,” said Jason Brandt, President & CEO of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association. “Unfortunately, city administrators appear to be undeterred and unwilling to concede dollars previously used to pay off debt for the Linn County Fair & Expo Center must be reinvested in tourism promotions and/or tourism-related facilities as required by state law.”

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 320.350 prohibits local governments from decreasing the percentage of Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) revenues spent to fund tourism promotion and tourism-related facilities once tourism-related facility debt is paid off.

“The city has had two choices available to them since retiring debt associated with the Linn County Fair & Expo Center,” said Brandt. “They could have reinvested those dollars in other tourism-related facility projects or tourism promotional campaigns bringing benefits to both residents and visitors, or they could have chosen to reduce the industry tax rate after paying off the debt. Unfortunately, these options have not been embraced, and our industry seeks to hold the City of Albany accountable for its failure to comply with state law.”

At the local level, tens of millions of dollars in lodging taxes are collected to support local governments, tourism facilities, and tourism promotion. Those dollars create stronger local economies throughout Oregon, which is why ORLA believes strongly in protecting these dedicated tourism funds. However, local lodging taxes in Oregon can be complicated, so ORLA created a 2-minute video that breaks down how these tax dollars can be spent based on state law.

Stay tuned for a joint press release from AAHOA and ORLA within the next couple of weeks regarding the critical need to protect local TLT revenues in order for communities to sustain operations in the off-season.

Read the entire press release