Public agencies are exploring financial strategies to support their communities and strengthen local economies.

In the City of Turlock, the City established a goal of creating a business incentive program for retail, commercial and industrial businesses as part of its Economic Development Strategic Plan. To advance this goal, the City Council examined opportunities to lower upfront costs for businesses without affecting existing City services.

On March 10, the Turlock City Council considered staff’s recommendation to lower Capital Facilities Fees by 25% for developments and use $500,000 from the Tourism Fund to cover the waived fees when permits are issued. 

The Tourism Fund is supported by Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue collected from hotel and lodging stays, which can be used for essential City services and economic development efforts. 

Finance Director Isaac Moreno is leading the program’s implementation and ongoing oversight.

This is just one of several examples of how agencies are allocating their transient occupancy tax on LINK. To quickly ramp up on this topic, check out this LINK article.

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