North Coast
Citizen Serving North Tillamook County since 1996
Thursday, July 10, 2025 | Vol. 32, Issue 14
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www.northcoastcitizen.com
TLT reform push ends in senate committee WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
For those looking for a thrill, Rainier Amusements will be offering carnival style rides (tickets must be purchased in addition to fair entry) and every day will see pari-mutuel horse racing in the grandstand arena throughout the afternoon.
A week after passing through the Oregon House of Representatives, a bill seeking to change the state’s transient lodging tax allocation formula reached the end of the line when it was not voted on in the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee on June 24. The bill was cosponsored by Representative Cyrus Javadi and Senator Suzanne Weber, along with Representative Jules Walters, and Javadi said that he plans to bring a similar piece of legislation in the 2026 short session. Javadi’s attempts to reform the spending restrictions of House Bill 2267 that passed in 2003 and established the current regime for TLT spending were a focus throughout the long session. Javadi and leaders in counties that receive high levels of tourism argued that the current restrictions requiring 70% of funds from the TLT go towards tourism promotion or facilities leave jurisdictions without sufficient revenues to meet the cost of serving visitors, especially as it relates to emergency services. Initially, Javadi introduced two bills, one proposing a change in the percentage of funds restricted for tourism use from 70% to 50% and the other proposing a change to the definitions of tourism-related spending to add law enforcement and tourism facility maintenance in the allowed expenditures for the restricted funds. Both of those proposals fizzled
See FAIR, Page A3
See TLT, Page A5
Less than a month until the Tillamook County Fair Fairgoers queue for and enjoy Tillamook ice cream and peruse the flower display in the fair’s main building in 2024.
WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
In just under a month, the Tillamook County Fairgrounds will transform into a hive of activity from August 6-9 for the Tillamook County Fair. Attendees from across the county and region will be treated to a plethora of dis-
plays, pari-mutuel horse racing, a standout concert lineup and, of course, Pig n’ Ford races as the fair celebrates 100 years of Pig n’ Ford as its theme. The fair will kick off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 6, and have hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day through Saturday, August 9. During the day, fairgoers
can wander the fair’s exhibit halls, where a host of local businesses and organizations, including the Headlight Herald, will have decorated booths. There will also be displays featuring local agricultural products from area granges, 4H and FFA animal competitions, and live entertainment on the fair’s central courtyard stage.
Independence Day the Tillamook way County WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Tillamook County celebrated the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with parades, wiener dog races and fireworks on July 4. Rockaway Beach’s celebrations kicked off the day, with the city’s annual Fourth of July Parade taking place at 11 a.m. before the 18th annual Firecracker Wiener Nationals
kicked off at 1 p.m. The parade featured entries from a wide assortment of local businesses from Flamingo Jim’s to Pronto Pup and was preceded by a flyover from the United States Airforce. Manzanita’s parade rolled down Laneda Avenue at one and saw a wide array of lo-
cal groups, including the Manzanita Police Department, neighborhood associations and Tillamook Peoples’ Utility District participate. The day was capped off at dusk with Rockaway Beach’s annual fireworks show.
See INDEPENDENCE DAY, Page A3
Rockaway First Prize: The winning float from Rockaway Beach’s 2025 parade.
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A group carries a large American flag in the Manzanita Parade.
PHOTO BY SCOTT FISHER
commissioners approve budget WILL CHAPPELL Citizen Editor
Tillamook County’s Board of Commissioners approved a budget for fiscal year 2026 at their meeting on June 25. In the wake of the failure to gain voter approval for an increase to the county’s transient lodging tax (TLT) and the death of a bill pushing TLT reform in Salem, the general fund budget will be balanced with two $1-million transfers, one from the Parks Department and one from the county’s revenue stabilization fund. Before approving the budget, all three county commissioners stressed that work to find new revenue streams and minimize expenses is ongoing, as the current situation is not sustainable. Conversations around the county’s tenuous budget situation kicked in to high gear last summer after the spring approval of a habitat conservation plan for western Oregon state forests cut the county’s timber revenues substantially. Along with statutorily limited increases to property taxes, that revenue cut created a projected deficit of to $2 million to $3.6 million in each of the next five fiscal years starting in 2025. In special meetings of the budget committee last summer and fall, suggestions for cutting expenses and generating new revenues were brainstormed, including raising the county’s TLT, instituting utility fees on electric bills and shortening employee work weeks. Eventually, the committee plugged See COMMISSIONERS, Page A3