Measure K, which will appear on the San Bernardino County ballot, will increase the transient occupancy tax from 7 to 11 percent in the unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County.
According to county officials, Measure K, if passed, will generate an estimated $9.4 million in additional annual funding for infrastructure, public safety, reductions in homelessness and other services.
The transient occupancy tax, referred to as TOT, is borne by guests paying for temporary lodging at hotels, motels, inns, and other places where one resides on a temporary basis through renting a room, bed, or additional space, such as with what are referred to as air mattress bed & breakfasts, or Airbnbs, for less than 30 days.
San Bernardino County officials say they might as well seek revenue through the TOT imposed, for the most part, on outsiders visiting the county, rather than using other revenue enhancements and taxes that would be paid by the county’s nearly 2.2 million residents.
According to the county, it has multiple demands on it in terms of sustaining its infrastructure, including maintaining over 2,500 miles of streets and roads in its unincorporated areas outside the city limits of its 22 cities and town limits of its two towns, which require ongoing repair and maintenance. County officials maintain that if those issues are not taken care of now, they will be more expensive to address in the future.
The county has created a  website, https://main.sbcounty.gov/tot/, with which it explains the TOT and what it supports, coming dangerously close to advocating that county residents support the tax, which is considered politicking that should not, under state law, be defrayed by taxpayer dollars.
Measure K will not apply in any of the county’s 22 cities – Chino Hills, Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, San Bernardino, Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands, Big Bear Lake, Barstow, Adelanto, Victorville, Hesperia, Yucaipa, Twentynine Palms or Needles; and it will not apply in its two incorporated towns of Apple Valley and Yucca Valley.
The TOT, also known as a bed tax – is a charge added to hotel and short-term rental bills in many if not most counties and cities in the U.S. The revenue helps pay for the impact tourists have on roads, public safety and other local services that would otherwise be borne solely by residents.
According to the county, those who stay in unincorporated parts of San Bernardino County pay less than half in TOT than what they would be charged in Santa Monica, Inglewood and other popular destinations.
The county’s TOT website explains in detail what the TOT is, how San Bernardino County’s rate compares to those of other jurisdictions, how it’s audited, and most importantly how its funding may be used in San Bernardino County, such as:

• Repairing and maintaining local streets, roads and sidewalks
• Keeping public parks and buildings safe and clean
• Addressing homelessness
• Providing wildfire prevention and improving paramedic and 911 emergency response times

The site also provides residents with a place to share comments and questions.