# 11-12-26 City of Oak Harbor Lodging Tax Advisory Committee


**Body:** City of Oak Harbor
**Date:** November 11, 2026
**Jurisdiction:** SLED

**Tags:** Grants & Funding


The City of Oak Harbor Lodging Tax Advisory Committee met on November 12, 2026, to review lodging-tax funding requests. It unanimously recommended that City Council provide the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce a one-time additional $20,000 for the 2027 Fourth of July fireworks display, separate from the committee’s $375,000 annual funding pool. The committee discussed fairness concerns about considering a request outside the regular application cycle and agreed future fireworks funding should be sought through the annual process.

The committee also unanimously recommended Option One for the annual requests, with adjustments including $120,000 for the Chamber’s visitor center, $10,000 for youth sailing, and $17,000 for the Playhouse; it removed a proposed $15,000 Renfair allocation. It recommended that Council consider offering the recommended amounts for multi-year requests as single-year awards, citing concerns about committing future lodging-tax revenues and incomplete or unclear application documentation. The committee plans to review and revise the application process in January or February 2027, including improving financial documentation, outcome reporting, and disclosure of other funding applications and awards. These are recommendations to City Council, not final awards.

**Source:** City of Oak Harbor