City says 453 short-term rental applications received; hosts must self-report occupancy tax

Commissioner Truetzee reported that “as of August 31, the City has received 453 short term rental applications,” adding that the city currently identifies 776 short-term rental units active in the last 12 months (down from the 825 units previously reported).

Truetzee and councilors discussed occupancy-tax collection and county coordination: staff stressed that the obligation to collect occupancy tax falls on hosts — platforms are not required to collect occupancy tax under current law — and that the county has provided a grace period through Oct. 1 to allow hosts to register and remit. Truetzee described an in-house portal switch from Granicus to Laserfiche and said the city’s backlog was addressed in June and the turnaround time for applications is now about three weeks.

On procurement costs, Truetzee said the prior Granicus contract was “about 56,000” per year, and the city reduced recurring costs to roughly $18,000 after moving to Laserfiche, noting a one-time fee of about $4,500 for the new portal. The administration said it will coordinate with the county so hosts can register through a single portal to avoid duplicate filings.

Councilors and staff agreed more outreach and education will be needed so hosts understand the new self-reporting responsibility and where to remit occupancy tax.