City will hold public hearing on resort tax Jan. 21

The Columbia Falls City Council will hold a public hearing Jan. 21 to discuss a proposed resort tax for the city.

A committee of city councilors, the mayor and residents have been working on the final details of the tax and how the money it could raise will be distributed.

The 3 percent sales tax would need approval by city voters, with a vote expected in the spring. The bulk of the tax funds would be put toward public safety, as the city will soon need at least a partially paid fire department.

Another facet of the fund would be a property tax rebate — reportedly 25 to 35 percent of the fund. Members of the committee apparently disagreed on how much that rebate should actually be, according to committee members the Hungry Horse News spoke to last week.

That will have to be ironed out before it goes on the ballot. Council is expected to make a decision on the final resort tax proposal at its Jan. 6 meeting.

The final proposal was not publicly available by presstime.

The resort tax is seen as way to capture some of the tourist revenue that comes into the town each summer, as a little less than half of the 3 million visitors to Glacier National Park at least drive through the city.

An economic analysis found that 25.7 percent of all businesses in the city, both public and private, are either entirely or partially dependent on tourism demand, according to a report by Department of Commerce senior economist Joe Ramler.

The city has estimated a 3 percent resort tax will conservatively provide the city with an additional $450,000 in revenue per year. The tax is placed on goods and services, like hotels, motels, RV Parks and campgrounds and vacation rentals, fast foods, restaurants, alcohol and other luxury items, but not groceries.

The public hearing will start at 7 p.m.