FRESNO COUNTY – Fresno County is one step closer to tapping into a potential revenue source that could bolster the county’s somewhat stagnant general fund.
At its April 7 meeting, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that would establish a transient occupancy tax (TOT) in the unincorporated areas of the county. This tax, if approved by voters, would take advantage of the short-term lodgers traveling through the county or visiting the eastern Sierra Nevada foothills.
“I think now, more than ever, we get a lot of people visiting Fresno County, … and these folks passing through our communities use our roads and everything else, spend their money — which we want — but we are unique as a county in not having our own TOT,” District 5 Supervisor Nathan Magsig said.
The board first received a presentation from county staff about establishing a TOT in February. At that time, they discussed how Fresno County is one of three counties in all of California that does not have a TOT in place, and it is the only county without a TOT that has hotels/short-term rentals in its jurisdiction.
Many cities in the county, including Fresno and Clovis, already have a TOT in place.
Magsig, who represents the foothills communities, said the county explored a TOT some 15 to 20 years ago, at a time when short-term rental companies like Vrbo and Airbnb weren’t as prevalent. Now, with many rentals welcoming visitors to Shaver Lake, Auberry, Hume Lake, Dunlap and more, the volunteer fire departments and other municipal services in those areas have more of a burden, Magsig said.
The TOT would be a general tax, meaning county supervisors could allocate any revenue from it in whatever way they want during the annual budget process.
At the proposed rate of 12%, the tax could generate approximately $4.5 million annually for the county. County Budget Director Paige Benavides said this would represent a significant portion of the county’s general fund operations.
That addition to the general fund could allow the county to hire 40 more district attorneys and public defenders or 50 new deputies in the sheriff’s office, Magsig said.
“So these revenues could be used to hire positions broadly here at the county, and, really, it wouldn’t be an increase of taxes to residents here, it would just be those who came to travel here and visit our area,” Magsig said.
In practice, the tax would be levied as a percentage of the rental rate charged for short-term stays of 30 days or less. Just like with other taxes, it would be up to the operator of the lodging property to charge the tax and report it to the county tax collector. The TOT would not apply to longer-term rentals or county residents.
The board will conduct a second reading of the ordinance at its meeting on April 21. Benavides said county staff then plan to conduct public outreach and poll constituents before returning to the board in June with a draft of the measure that would place the ordinance on the November ballot.
It will ultimately be up to a simple majority of Fresno County voters to approve or deny the tax. If it passes, the tax would go into effect at the beginning of 2027.