North Coast
Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, January 8, 2026 | Vol. 33, Issue 1
www.northcoastcitizen.com
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Skaar steps into AOC presidency WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Manzanita City Hall cut- (Left to right) City Councilors Tom Campbell, Linda Kozlowski and Jerry Spegman, City Manager Leila Aman, City Councilor Brad Hart and (far left) John Handler, hold the ribbon as Mayor Kathryn Stock and Velda Handler, whose family previously owned the city hall and police station property, cut it to open the new Manzanita city hall and police station.
Projects completed across Tillamook County in 2025
NBHD Board Chair Marc Johnson addressing the crowd gathered for the grand opening of the district’s new clinic and pharmacy.
Tillamook County saw a year of grand openings, as projects large and small across the county were completed, highlighted by the North County Recreation District’s new natatorium, the Nehalem Bay Health District’s new pharmacy and clinic, and the new Manzanita city hall. The year also saw the transient lodging tax (TLT) become a hot political issue, as county voters rejected a 4% increase to the county’s rate and a push by State Representative Cyrus Javadi to change the allocation criteria for TLT revenues fell short in Salem, ultimately contributing to Javadi’s September decision to switch parties. Facing a budget crunch, Tillamook County commissioners decided to seek an increase in the county’s TLT rate from 10% to 14% on May’s ballot, but the proposal ultimately failed, with a recount confirming that just 12 more voters opposed the increase than supported it in early June. That was around the same time Javadi’s efforts to change the percentage of TLT funds that could be used without restriction by counties sputtered out in a senate committee amid political machinations. Javadi’s decision to switch parties, from Republican to Democrat, came later, See PROJECTS, Page A3
See SKAAR, Page A3
The pools at the new natatorium at the North County Recreation District underwent commissioning this summer ahead of a grand opening in September.
Bell prepares for TLT discussions WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
With potential changes to state restrictions on transient lodging tax dollars and a change in leadership at the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association appearing likely, Tillamook County Commissioner Mary Faith Bell is preparing to lead a working group to evaluate the county’s use of those dollars moving forward. In a recent interview with the Headlight Herald, Bell said that the potential changes to transient lodging tax (TLT) legislation at the state level could prove a critical piece in securing the county’s finances. However, that potential change comes at the same time as Bell and her fellow commissioners are looking at ways to use TLT dollars to improve county facilities to grow revenues and as a list of projects across the county has grown that would benefit from those funds. That led commissioners to decide to convene a working group, with Bell at the helm, to holistically evaluate the county’s ap-
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In late November, at the group’s annual conference, Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skaar assumed the presidency of the Association of Oregon Counties, a post she will hold for a year. In the role, Skaar will advocate for the interests of Oregon counties at the state and national level and lead the organization in conducting a comprehensive study of county finances across the state to better inform the association’s conversations with state leaders moving forward. “We’re actually going to do a study with AOC (Association of Oregon Counties) to determine where we are so that we can then be able to have a cohesive conversation, one voice, with the state to say, here’s where we are,” Skaar said. The AOC is a membership organization comprised of elected leaders from each of Oregon’s counties that represents counties’ interests at the state and federal levels. The organization has a professional staff, including an executive director and team of lobbyists in Salem, offers training for newly elected county leaders and has a division that oversees the distribution of road maintenance funds to counties. Skaar was elected to the association’s board in 2023, and served as second vice president in 2024, before moving into the first vice presidency last year. As president, Skaar will chair the association’s monthly meetings, meet bimonthly with Governor Tina Kotek, travel to Salem frequently during the legislative session to advocate on counties’ behalf and attend several regional and national conferences representing AOC. During the short legislative session, Skaar said that members have identified increasing state
proach to its TLT dollars moving forward. “The pot of TLT that we’ll have to spend will be smaller because we need to move more of it into the general fund and yet the things we want to invest in are growing,” Bell said. “So, we need more direction figuring out the balance between all that.” The subject of TLT reform has been a hot topic for several years in Salem, as Tillamook and other counties with high numbers of visitors have advocated for a change in the requirement that 70% of TLT revenues be spent on tourism marketing or tourist-related facilities. County leaders have contended that high numbers of visitors have burdened their emergency services and infrastructure and that the current split does not allow the funds they generate to be used to address that burden. Last year, State Representative Cyrus Javadi proposed legislation that would have reduced the percentage of TLT revenues restricted to tourist related expenditures from 70% to 40%, but it ultimately fizzled out in a senate committee after passing through the house of representatives. However, Javadi plans to bring a similar bill forward again in this year’s short session, and State Senator Suzanne Weber plans to sponsor a partner bill in the senate. Both have said they are optimistic they will pass, though have noted
that the final percentage allocation of restricted and unrestricted funds may change. For Tillamook County, an increase from 30% to 60% in unrestricted funds would represent an increase from around $2.4 million to $4.8 million. Currently, the county’s unrestricted funds are allocated to the county’s public works department for road maintenance expenses, while the $5.6 million in restricted funds are split between a roughly $2.1-million contract with the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association (TCVA) for destination management services, tourism facilities and marketing grants managed by TCVA, and a county run tourism facilities grant program. The potential change to allowed TLT revenue uses comes as the county’s contract with TCVA is set to expire at the end of 2026, and as the association’s Executive Director Nan Devlin is set to step down at the end of February. Several other factors would further complicate discussions about reallocating the funds, including a desire by county leaders to increase investments in parks facilities to boost revenues, as well as an outstanding list of existing or envisioned tourist facilities across the county that would qualify for restricted TLT funding. Altogether, Bell said that this had led commissioners to decide it was a good time to convene a working group with community mem-
bers and industry representatives to evaluate priorities moving forward. Bell said that the TCVA board, of which she is a member, had agreed to hold off on recruitment of a new executive director until the work group process is complete. “We need some cohesive sense that involves people from the community, that involves people from TCVA but also from the industry to brainstorm about prioritizing those expenses,” Bell said. Dovetailing with that work, Bell said that she also wants to develop a strategic plan for the parks department to create a roadmap for upgrades across their facilities, mentioning possible expansions at the Barview Jetty, Webb and Kilchis River County Campgrounds. Bell said that she expected most or all of any newly unrestricted funds would be used to fill a multimillion-dollar shortfall in the county’s general fund, which is being covered this year by transfers from the parks department and reserve fund. Despite the draw on the reserve fund, Bell said that she felt a lot of progress had been made in 2025 on moving the county toward financial stability, citing improved communication as a driving factor. Over the past year, county commissioners and members of the county’s budget committee have met quarterly for updates on the county’s budSee BELL, Page A2
Fournier sounds optimistic note on budget situation WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
One year into his tenure as Tillamook County commissioner, Paul Fournier said that he feels that he has played a role in an ongoing culture shift at the county that he believes promises a strong financial future. In a series of recent interviews, Fournier said that the county’s new strategy of placing a portion of parks revenues into the general fund, along with delaying hirings and increasing the county’s share of revenues from justice court will meet budgetary needs. Fournier also remains committed to realizing new projects across the county to boost revenues and has identified increased code enforcement efforts as a further revenue generator, saying that he believes they can help the county begin replenishing its reserve funds in the medium term. “We have a couple of years not to wait to figure it out, we have a couple years to actively figure it out, which is what I think we’re See FOURNIER, Page A5