4-Year-Old Bed Tax Hike to Go on Ballot

Four years after Ojai officials approved a 2% increase in the city’s bed tax, voters will be asked to support that increase, paid largely by tourists who lodge in local hotels.

The City Council this week unanimously approved placing the issue on the November ballot.

The move was prompted by the threat of legal action from a “citizen activist” who wants the city to comply with Proposition 62, which requires voters’ approval of new taxes.

Craig Walker threatened to sue the city on the basis of a 1995 court decision upholding the constitutionality of Proposition 62, which was passed in 1986.

“We’ve got an activist that thinks this needs to be voted on,” City Manager Andy Belknap said. “Rather than push the situation and potentially get some sort of adverse court ruling, we think it’s best to get a vote of the people on it.”

Officials in tourist-dependent Ojai estimate the 2% tax increase will provide more than $180,000 in revenue this fiscal year alone.

Since no one has ever complained about the tax itself, city officials do not believe voters will reject it at the polls. If they do, however, the city probably would go to court and could end up having to refund the money it has collected since increasing the tax, Belknap conceded.

“The city would be in a difficult position,” he said.