The city of Bend has brought in over $7.8 million in hotel room taxes since last July: How does it help locals?

Visit Bend says the funds go toward city needs, projects to benefit community - sparing tax dollars

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- New data shows the money brought in from taxes on tourist lodging since the start of the fiscal year last July 1 has reached nearly $8 million. Visit Bend will send the vast majority, nearly $5 million, toward core city services like police and fire, while the rest will fund community projects.

The money being used is called a transient room tax.

"Folks who stay in the City of Bend in a hotel or lodging property, short-term rental, RV park, campground -anything in the city limits, they pay a room tax," explained Nate Wyeth, Visit Bend's vice president.

The nonprofit works with the city to manage and distribute the room tax. Wyeth says his organization’s goal is to make sure tourism tax dollars benefit you and your family: "Leveraging those tourism dollars to enhance the quality of life, people who live here are important to us and our fabric of who we are."

Of the $7.8 million brought from the transient room tax since July, $5 million (or 65%) will be used for core services like police, fire, and maintaining the city streets.

Visit Bend believes this could mean more money in your pocket: "It lessens the burden on locals. That's important, because that means when we have a strong visitor economy, it's less that you must contribute to it."

Wyeth says the remaining $3 million funds community projects throughout the city: "It goes into two different grant programs, the Bend Sustainability Fund and then the Bend Cultural Tourism fund.

KTVZ News has reported on many of these projects, including major upgrades at Bend BMX.

“We had dreamed about for years being able to get like a professional track rebuilt or being able to do a soil treatment on the track or some of these things that were just pipe dreams for us. The Bend Sustainability Fund made it a reality," Atul Buono, president of Bend BMX, told KTVZ News last year.

Ray Solley, retiring executive director of the Tower Theatre in downtown Bend, said the recent upgrades to the decades-old seats are thanks to those room-tax dollars: "After 20 years, you can only imagine what some of the seats, springs and hinges are like."

With tourism holding steady, Wyeth hopes the tourists keep coming, and so do the projects.

"I'm really excited about the direction we're continuing ahead as an organization," he said.