Submitted by the Town of Friday Harbor

The Town of Friday Harbor’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee is delaying the application process for 2021 tourism promotion grants until later this year. Normally, the application period is open from June through August. Due to current uncertainty regarding this year’s lodging tax revenue, the Town is unable to estimate the amount of funds that will available for grant allocation. This allocation will be determined after more tax data has been collected. Lodging tax revenues are the sole source of funding for LTAC grants.

“The Town must carefully manage the lodging tax funds to keep the grant program strong through 2021,” said Town Administrator Duncan Wilson. He added, “We will be reviewing revenue results over the next several months to determine what can be distributed in next year’s budget.”

Wilson went on to assure that all LTAC grants awarded last year for use in 2020 will be fully funded per contractual agreement. Any programs or events that are canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic may cause the unused grant monies to be returned to the LTAC fund.