TOT on the ballot? Tell City Council to step up for the Experience Economy

Since our inception, one of SJAA’s key priorities has been a reallocation of funding from the San José’s Transient Occupancy Tax, a voter-approved 10% surcharge placed on hotel stays citywide. 

This funding currently falls into several buckets:

• 4% goes into the City’s General Fund and can be used for any purpose.
• 4.5% is directed to Team San José, which serves as the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau.
• 1.5% is used to fund virtually the entire budget of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, including cultural grants, public art, and staff.

For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the total TOT is projected to be $45M, which means $6.75M for the OCA.

Our position has always been that arts, culture, and hospitality industries should receive a larger piece of this pie because San José’s “experience economy” is the primary driver of the TOT. Unfortunately, our elected leaders do not agree.

In fact, this Tuesday, the City Council will consider a June ballot measure to increase the General Fund portion of the TOT, with none of it targeted for the arts.

SJAA has endorsed a recommendation from city consultants to set a baseline for the General Fund portion of TOT and to allocate any net new TOT revenue to arts and culture programs.

Had this adjustment been implemented in the current fiscal year, it would have meant an additional $1M of funding for the OCA. If those dollars had been applied to the General Operating Grants program, each of the 35 nonprofit grantees could have received an average of $28,500 in additional funding. 

• That’s one month’s payroll for a staff of five full-time creative workers.
• It’s scholarships for 100 students to participate in an arts education program.
• It’s thousands of subsidized tickets for community members to attend a play, concert, or other performance.

Instead, city administration would prefer to expand the TOT to plug a hole in the General Fund, essentially balancing their budget on the backs of local artists. The council is almost certain to place the proposed measure on the ballot for the June 2 primary election, and it is likely to pass according to recent polling.

But we still have an opportunity to make our case, and here’s how you can help:

1. Send an email to the Mayor and Council calling on them to commit to additional arts funding. Here’s a template you can send in 30 seconds.
2. Attend the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10, starting at 1:30pm, to deliver this message in person. Contact us for meeting details and talking points. The ballot measure item is likely to come up around 3pm.
3. Share this message with your personal and organizational networks to expand our advocacy. Hit “Forward” on this email right now.

It’s time for all artists, arts advocates, and arts supporters to speak with one voice and uplift the value and importance of investing in the creative community.