Tuolumne County Supervisors Forming Committee To Look At Fire Fees And Taxes

Photo taken by: Mark Truppner

Sonora, CA — After discussing potential new revenue sources to help fund fire protection, the Tuolumne County Supervisors formed an ad-hoc committee to further review the issue.

At today’s meeting the supervisors discussed the merits of things like a potential development fee, a business licensing fee, a parcel tax and a visitor tax on hotels and lodging. Click here to view an earlier story about the various potential ideas.

During the discussion, the supervisors appeared most open towards the idea of a parcel tax, potentially around $130, or a roughly $5 tax on hotels (separate from the Transient Occupancy Tax). Speaking about the parcel tax, there was a hope that this could be something that encourages insurance companies to keep customers. A concern raised about the development fee was that it could slow efforts to build more affordable housing.

Board Chair Karl Rodefer noted that more information is needed, and all options should still be on the table.  He appointed supervisors John Gray and Ryan Campbell to be a part of the county committee to review the various options and scenarios, and they will report back at a later meeting.