Orange is one of four cities in the county asking for an increase to its Transient Occupancy Tax, charged to guests on overnight stays in local hotels.
Measure J would increase the so-called hotel tax from 10% to 14%.
The tax would apply to hotels with 11 or more rooms and generate an estimated $3 million annually into city coffers for services, including police, fire and emergency response, parks and street and infrastructure maintenance.
“Measure J is a simple idea: hotel guests should pay their fair share of taxes for city of Orange services because Orange residents should not bear the entire cost of serving hotel guests,” supporters of the measure said in their ballot argument. “Every day, visitors staying in Orange hotels rely on our police officers, firefighters, streets, parks, and other public services. Measure J simply asks visitors to contribute more toward the community they enjoy.”
There was no ballot argument submitted against the measure.
Measure J requires a simple majority of support among voters to pass.