When the North Lake Tahoe Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) was formed by the business community, it created, for the first time, a way for both day and overnight visitors to help contribute to the region’s vitality. It also launched an entirely different way for our community to leverage revenues generated by tourism and a new opportunity for local decision-making related to reinvesting these funds back into our community.

Why does this matter? Simply put, when our community is actively involved in decisions that impact those who live, work and play here, the outcome is better for us all. We – as a collective community – have representation on the committees and the Board of Directors convened by the North Tahoe Community Alliance (NTCA). These members are local business and community organization representatives and residents representing all geographic areas of our region and businesses, both large and small. The collective “we” are vested in this community’s success while recognizing that success relies on achieving balance in the unique environment we all are fortunate to call home.

Prior to the TBID, approximately $5M per year in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), paid only by overnight visitors who stay in local hotels or short-term rentals, was reinvested in North Lake Tahoe. Those funds were used to support quality-of-life services like transportation initiatives, bike paths, and other infrastructure upgrades. It also supported economic vitality efforts, including marketing the destination to encourage tourism – the cornerstone industry of our region.

Today, our community has more decision-making ability on how funds generated by tourism are reinvested than ever before. The formation of the TBID gave the NTCA’s locally based volunteer Board of Directors the final decision on the expenditure of TBID funds. And, together with the new committees formed to represent a diverse collection of local voices, the NTCA Board can better advocate for community needs regarding the recommendation of TOT funding expenditures that the Placer County Board of Supervisors ultimately has the authority to approve.

This broad coalition of community members, 56 people in total, meets regularly to evaluate projects and programs that have requested funding support and decide which to invest in – projects like Lease to Locals, the expansion of TART Connect’s service hours, and the Sierra Community House’s Workforce Housing Advocacy & Direct Assistance Program.

Because of the TBID, the revenue available to address community needs, help support the business community, and bolster a year-round economy, has increased from $5M to approximately $11M annually.

Another major change that occurred because of the TBID was the shift in the NTCA’s focus. The organization now serves as North Lake Tahoe’s Destination Management and Stewardship Organization and has refocused its marketing strategy to support the destination during off-peak seasons and mid-week, while refocusing the peak season messages to educate visitors about how to help take care of Tahoe when they’re here. TBID funds also support locally produced events that contribute to the character of our community and are used to help mitigate tourism impacts by funding projects like the BEBOT beach cleaning robot and the Lake Tahoe Ambassador program.

Because of the TBID, more TOT dollars are available to support critical transportation and workforce housing initiatives that benefit those who live and work in our community. This shift, which requires local committee recommendations in the process of reinvesting TOT funds in North Lake Tahoe, gives our region greater influence over our destiny than ever before.

In 2026, the North Lake Tahoe business community will have the ability to renew the TBID. Its continuation will allow the valuable work being done through the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program to support local businesses and our community’s top priorities.

If it is not renewed, we’ll have roughly $6M less in available funding annually for workforce housing and transportation projects and programs, and less direct, local influence over how tourism revenues are allocated. 

In simple terms, without the TBID and the additional funding it provides, we lose a broadened funding bucket that has local oversight and is directed at tackling our community’s most important priorities as set by those who live, work and play here.

Interested in learning more about the TOT-TBID Dollars At Work program and how tourism generated funds are being reinvested in our community? Read the NTCA’s Annual Report at http://www.northtahoecommunityalliance.com.

Sue Rae Irelan is the Chair of the North Tahoe Community Alliance Board of Directors