Mendocino County campground tax trails

Early returns from Mendocino County on Tuesday night showed voters leaning toward rejecting the expansion of a lodging tax to cover private campgrounds and RV parks - a move that was expected to generate an additional $1 million annually for county general services.

With about 15 percent of the vote counted, the tax measure was trailing by a margin of 53-to-47 percent.

“I thought it would be fairly tight, and that it will stay fairly tight,” said Dan Hamburg, chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “In general, people are not wanting to pay more when they go camping. We’ll just see how it goes. It’s a small revenue producer, but still significant for Mendocino County’s budget.”

The county already charges a 10 percent fee on stays of 30 days or fewer at all hotels, inns and guesthouses, but unlike neighboring counties, not at private tent sites or overnight parking areas for recreational vehicles.

Proponents of Measure G said it would close a loophole that gave a competitive advantage to private campground and RV parks, as well as boost county coffers. Campsites in state parks, or operated by local governments or by membership contract would remain exempt from the fee.

County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari Schapmire sponsored the ballot measure, which the Board of Supervisors supported in February in 5-0 vote, placing it on the ballot.

The board previously rejected pursuing a ballot measure for similar purposes in 1993 and 2009.

The county’s lodging fee, which accounted for $5.1 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year, was the third-largest revenue source toward the general fund behind property and sales taxes, according county Auditor-Controller Lloyd Weer.

Schapmire told the Board of Supervisors earlier this year the tax expansion would apply to more than 350 tent sites at 27 campgrounds in the county and raise an estimated $1 million for government services including law enforcement, capital needs for public safety and administrative departments.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or at kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.