Supporting initiatives that benefit residents, businesses, and visitors with funds generated locally
Tahoe City, Calif. – Revenues generated by local businesses and North Lake Tahoe visitors continue to positively impact the community. Over $2.5M in funds generated by Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District (NLT-TBID) were allocated in the second half of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 to initiatives that are making progress on workforce housing, regional transportation, economic vitality, trails, recreation, and tourism mitigation.
“Because we now have access to two local funding sources, our community has the ability to reinvest in initiatives that our residents, businesses, and visitors need to thrive,” said Tony Karwowski, NTCA president and CEO. “Implementation of the NTCA’s new Community Vitality and Economic Health Investment Program also allows us to more easily vet and support projects, programs, and services with TOT and TBID revenues to improve quality of life.”
Sponsorship & Multi-year Funding Program
The North Tahoe Community Alliance recently launched a Sponsorship and Multi-year Funding Program as part of the new Community Vitality and Economic Health Investment Program and will roll out an Annual Grant Program to support projects, programs, and services that are suited for annual funding this fall. The program provides a framework to evaluate projects, programs, and services that TBID and TOT funds generated in the community will be used to support.
A complete NTCA Annual Report will be released in Fall 2023, however what follows are some of the initiatives that have received funding during the second half of the fiscal year (January through June 2023):
Key Initiatives Supported by the TBID
Over $1.2M in TBID revenues have been allocated to:
- Incubation of the Housing Hub, a new nonprofit organization being formed to simplify and streamline the process and time it takes to create workforce housing
- Local event sponsorship and annual partnership funding to support marketing and promotion of 2023 events (view the full list of events that received funding here)
- Sponsorship of the Lake Tahoe Ambassador program, which engages local youth to spread the word about environmental stewardship at highly impacted beaches and trailheads through the peak summer months
- Marketing campaigns that are focused on stewardship education and responsible travel for both residents and visitors; this includes efforts with regional event planners to highlight and encourage stewardship among event attendees
- Funding of the important work conducted by the Tahoe City Downtown Association and the North Tahoe Business Association in support of local businesses, plus select programming such as summer flower baskets and winter downtown lighting
- Sponsorship of bike valet services at local events to encourage stewardship and human-powered transportation
Key Initiatives Supported by TOT
A total of $1.38M was recommended by the NTCA Board of Directors, the TOT Committee, and the CAP Committee in support of:
- Continuation of the free, on-demand microtransit service that is being offered year-round through TART Connect
- Funding in support of the North Lake Tahoe Express Airport Shuttle
- Continued funding of the Placemate program that incentivizes vacation homeowners to rent long-term to the local workforce
- Support for pre-development efforts related to the Tahoe City Downtown Access Improvements that will include parking and traffic flow enhancements
Funds generated by TBID assessments are managed by the NTCA with oversight from the NTCA Board of Directors and committees comprised of representatives from assessed businesses. Annual TBID revenues are used for responsible travel and stewardship education, efforts to offset tourism impacts, bolster a year-round economy, and support local businesses.
Quality of life services
Funds generated by overnight visitors (TOT) are managed by Placer County. The Capital Projects Advisory (CAP) committee, co-convened by the NTCA and Placer County, the TOT committee, and the NTCA Board of Directors make recommendations to the Placer County Board of Supervisors for the use of TOT that is generated in eastern Placer County to contribute to projects and quality of life services like workforce housing, traffic reduction and transportation initiatives, bike paths and trails, and more.
Additional TOT funds that previously funded the NTCA’s operations and tourism marketing efforts were “turned back” to Placer County when the TBID was implemented. Those turned back funds are now being used to support workforce housing and transportation initiatives as recommended by the NTCA Board of Directors and the TOT committee.
Learn more about TBID and TOT dollars at work and the projects they support at www.northtahoecommunityalliance.com.
