What is happening with Ordinance #88 (new tax on businesses in unincorporated County?)

Submitted By: walnutstudiolo@gmail.com – Click to email about this post
Does anyone know what is going on with Ordinance #88, a proposed new license fee on all businesses in unincorporated Tillamook County (including farms and home businesses with no employees)?

We are a small business that would be affected by this tax and I have questions and concerns. I found out about it from a letter to the editor in the Headlight-Herald but there doesn’t seem to be any local news coverage about it, even though there was a County public meeting about it on Nov 30?

I tried searching Google but all official documentation in search results about the proposed ordinance have been removed or password-protected on the County and “Economic Development Council” (EDC) websites.

The commissioners haven’t responded to my emails yet but the EDC responded that Commissioner Bell is forming a working group and the EDC is holding a public meeting on Dec 19 that I’m not sure I can attend: www.edctc.com/edc-minutes

The only info I can find is from meeting minutes on the EDC’s website, and these make this new fee appear to be kind of a big deal:

Fee amounts were supposed to “mirror” from the City of Tillamook’s business license fee, $75 – $300 per business per year.

According to EDC meeting minutes from August 2022, the purpose of the new tax is:
1. We have no idea who is operating as a business.
2. In case of an emergency, we do not have a comprehensive list of who needs to be notified.
3. This is a way of bringing in revenue for the EDC.

Please reach out if you have any information.

Here are the letters from the Headlight-Herald:
– 2022-11-30 Headlight-Herald Letter to the Editor: www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-ordinance-88-the-edc-and-the-death-of-economic-freedom-by-unelected-bureaucrats/article_b3d99900-7687-11ed-8cd5-bf2be8016507.html

– 2022-12-09 Headlight-Herald Letter to the Editor: www.tillamookheadlightherald.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-more-on-ordinance-88/article_8e64d25c-7687-11ed-9201-2f74dda7edc7.html

Valerie Franklin
Walnut Studiolo
Original Modern Designs / Handcrafted Leather Goods
36005 Highway 53, Nehalem, OR 97131
Phone +1 503-447-6889
Email walnutstudiolo@gmail.com
URL walnutstudiolo.com