Lolo Resort Tax

After much public comment, staff decided to table this project until further notice.

Interested residents in Lolo and Missoula County Public Works are in the early stages of exploring if a resort tax could benefit their community. Resort taxes provide a revenue source for some communities and resort areas to finance certain services. A resort tax in Lolo could help pay for critical infrastructure, such as improvements to and maintenance of roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, sidewalks, trails, lighting, parks and landscaping. These improvements would otherwise require an increase in assessments in Rural Special Improvement Districts (RSIDs) or property taxes. Local voters in the resort area must approve the tax; it cannot be imposed upon a community without a vote. 

The goal of resort taxes is to allow places with high numbers of visitors, but relatively few residents, to manage the wear-and-tear on local infrastructure without overburdening local residents. A resort tax could help offset RSID assessments and property taxes for residents in the Lolo area. It is a sales tax that can apply to:

• Hotels, motels and other lodging or camping facilities
• Restaurants, fast food stores and other food service establishments
• Taverns, bars, night clubs, lounges or other public establishments that serve alcohol
• Destination ski resorts or other destination recreational facilities
• Other luxuries sold in the resort area

The following steps must take place before a community votes on a resort tax: 

1. Community members explore the feasibility and pros/cons of implementing a resort tax. (This is the step we are on now.)
2. A committee of community members determines the boundary for the proposed resort area district.
3. The Montana Department of Commerce evaluates the proposed district boundary to determine if it meets the criteria to be designated as a resort area.
4. 15% of registered voters in the district must sign a petition asking to put a resort tax in place. The petition must include a proposal to impose a resort tax within the proposed resort area, including the rate, duration, effective date and purpose of the tax.
5. Upon receiving a petition to establish a resort area, the county commissioners will vote to place the measure on the ballot for an upcoming election. The measure would only appear on ballots of voters in the proposed resort district area.
6. If voters approve approve the ballot measure, the resort area district is created.
7. Voters in the resort area district can elect a resort area district board to oversee the funds; otherwise the county commissioners manage the funds.

Make sure to scroll down and check out the FAQ section on the right side of this page for answers to common questions about this topic. If you have other questions that the FAQ doesn't answer, ask them below!