New Whidbey, Camano joint tourism board approved

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 6, 2026

A board that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to lure tourists to Whidbey and Camano islands is being replaced.

On Tuesday, the Island County commissioners adopted an interlocal agreement with Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley regarding a joint tourism effort. The municipalities each adopted the agreement earlier this year.

The new program established by the interlocal agreement will continue the mission of the former board, which was called both the Joint Tourism Board and the Joint Administrative Board. The unwieldy board oversaw Embrace Whidbey and Camano Islands marketing, which sought to draw tourists from 50 miles or more away to visit the islands through direct advertising, support for writers of stories in national publications, management of a website and other efforts.

The tourism program drew some criticism in the past, especially when a South Whidbey businessman questioned the spending habits and lack of transparency of the program. The city of Oak Harbor was criticized for supposedly reaping the benefits of the marketing while not paying its share, while city leaders chafed when stories in national publications overlooked Oak Harbor as a tourism destination in favor of quaint Coupeville and Langley.

Bryan Stucky, an Oak Harbor council member and head of the tourism board, explained that the new agreement brings significant changes.

First of all, the new program will have less money because of a modification in the portion of lodging tax receipts that the municipalities contribute. The county and municipalities each have a “basic” lodging tax, also known as the hotel-motel tax, in which they receive 2% as credit against the state sales tax. The second or “special” lodging tax is 2% on top of the other state and local sales taxes.

The agreement specifies the portion of the special lodging tax revenues each jurisdiction will pay. Island County will provide 100% while Oak Harbor, Langley and Coupeville will each provide 25%.

Stucky explained that Oak Harbor will pay an estimated $48,000 a year, which is similar to the previous flat $50,000 a year the city agreed to. Coupeville and Langley’s contributions, however, are significantly less.

The overall funding will reduce by about 25%, from more than $900,000 to an estimated $750,000 a year.

The new tourism program will have a single staff member, a program manager, who will be a county employee but funded through the pooled lodging tax revenues. Previously, the board contracted with a public relations manager and a regenerative program support person to run the program. The problem with that, Stucky said, is that contract employees didn’t have access to funding without board approval, which ended up causing delays. A county employee, he said, will act as a “de facto executive director” and essentially have access to the county’s credit card.

In addition, the former governing board was just too big, he said, which made it difficult to gather a quorum. The board composition was also weighted toward South Whidbey.

Under the interlocal agreement, the executive board will have just four members — one county commissioner and an elected leader from Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley. It also sets up a nine-member Joint Tourism Advisory Committee made up of four members from different chambers of commerce, one member of the executive board and at-large citizens or representatives from lodging businesses.

Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson, a member of the executive board, had been working with Stucky to finalize the interlocal agreement.

“The new structure allows for more feedback and input from advisory members, ensures equal representation from all regions of the county,” she said, “and puts the responsibility for the expenditures of public funds on the elected officials who are accountable to the taxpayers.”

The new agreement will “tighten down procedures,” Stucky said.

“We weren’t doing anything illegal, but some things could be more transparent,” he said.

The next step is to hire a program manager. Stucky said the board is waiting to get resumes from the county.