Women's Clothing Boutique in Tybee Island, GA

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. —

For years, vacation rental owners on Tybee Island have been paying hundreds of dollars annually for business licenses tied to their properties. However, it has recently come to light that these fees were not legally required under Georgia state law.

Tybee officials have now acknowledged the mistake and are taking steps to rectify the situation by offering refunds to affected property owners.

Rental owner Jenny Rutherford described her shock upon learning that the fees were never valid.

"We made a couple of phone calls and found out that actually, in fact, the city was never able to charge a business license to residential property owners at all," she said.

According to Georgia law, cities are limited in how they can regulate and tax residential rental properties. Rutherford pointed out that the Georgia Municipal Association's guidelines specifically prohibit occupational taxes on residential rental properties.

A city spokesperson admitted the oversight, stating, "State law exempts properties from having to receive an [Occupation Tax Certificate] if no 'business' was conducted at the location."

To address the issue, Tybee Island has introduced a new policy waiving business license fees for short-term rentals starting in 2025. However, some rental owners are still focused on recovering past fees.

In a statement emailed to WJCL 22 News, Tybee officials confirmed they are offering refunds to affected property owners: "The City determined that a number of properties on Tybee Island with STR certificates may be exempt from the OTC requirement. Specifically, State law exempts properties from having to receive an OTC if no “business” was conducted at the location."

"If a property owner believes they have overpaid OTC fees, they may request a refund claim form from the Finance Department by emailing financehelp@cityoftybee.gov."

WJCL 22 News

Tybee Island OTC Tax Refund Claim Form

Rutherford sees this as progress.

"It's a step in the right direction. I feel like the city is finally hearing us," Rutherford said.

Rutherford hopes Tybee's move will encourage other cities to reevaluate their vacation rental fee structures.

"This could be a trickle effect to a lot of other cities and towns around here that are charging business licenses as well," she said.

As Tybee works to resolve its error, WJCL reached out to the city of Savannah for its stance on vacation rental licensing. Savannah officials assured that their procedures comply fully with state law.

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Promoters for the spring break event on Tybee Island called Orange Crush have started the application process to work with the city of Tybee.

In the past, the Island has seen trouble with events related to Orange Crush saying many are unpermitted.

All eyes were on Orange Crush this past year as residents and eventgoers watched to see how it would all unfold.

Now, planning for 2025 has started.

The mayor of Tybee says he is proud of how this past year went and hopes that Orange Crush and Tybee Island can find a way to work together in the upcoming years.

“We encourage college students to come here and enjoy spring break,” says Brian West, Mayor of Tybee. “And now that we have an idea of how it went we can move forward.”

The spring break event has been going on for decades, but in 2023 the weekend hit a breaking point for the island.

“2023 was completely out of hand, and it is something we can’t allow to happen again,” says West.

This past year the island had amped up security and reinforcements to avoid the mass chaos from 2023.

But with a permit application already submitted Mayor West feels as if this could be taking a step forward.

2023’s Orange Crush Event was the first event held since Georgia Legislation was passed.

Senate Bill 443 allows municipalities to hold promoters of unpermitted events, like Orange Crush, responsible for any additional public service costs or damages it might bring with it.

This permit is long and requests several large accommodations according to West so he doesn’t believe that the city will be able to to approve everything.

West did say he wants to be able to work with the promoter to approve as much as possible, which may be more than in the past after having what he calls a better year in 2024.

“Now that we have done this, we have a model, we know what works,” said West. “We know how much it costs and what needs to be done to make it a safe event.”

Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.

(This article has been updated to correct an inaccuracy. The Tybee City Council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 12, not Dec. 9 as previously reported.)

Long the playground of Georgia, Tybee Island is facing some wear and tear on its infrastructure and facilities, and funding the nearly $100 million needed in upgrades for stormwater management is part of the city's legislative agenda when the session starts on Jan. 13, 2025.

But as the city looks to, in part, use tourism dollars to help fund water and sewer infrastructure, tourism levels on Tybee and in Savannah have been returning to pre-COVID levels and cannot cover the total price tag. For this reason, Tybee Island is looking to implement a Municipal Option Sales Tax, or MOST.

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“Tybee was an attractive destination during COVID [quarantine] and right after, as well,” said City Manager Brett Bell, who’s been in the position since September. “So in 2022-2023, we saw more visitor activity than at any point in our history, by far. Much of what we’re witnessing now is normalizing from this artificial bump due primarily to COVID.”

Parking revenue for the first quarter of FY2025 was $1.99 million, 13% lower than the first quarter of FY24, when parking revenue topped $2.29 million. The room tax collected between July and September 2024 dropped below $900,000―$131,000 lower than the same time last year.

Overall, the decrease in the meter and room tax is consistent with the decrease in visitor counts, down 18% from last year, according to a financial update presented to the Tybee City Council in October. The presentation also mentioned that June, July and August are the cities' largest revenue-generating months, but with the city's fiscal year beginning on July 1, June's numbers count toward the previous fiscal year.

Bell also cited the impacts from Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene as “taking us off the map for a couple of weeks” and disrupting visitation. The recent hurricane season is part of why Tybee along with the other local governments within coastal Georgia are seeking different tools to fund infrastructure for stormwater improvements.

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One of the tools the city is looking to use for the upgrades is the municipal option sales tax (MOST) will help with that. MOST was first adopted in Atlanta and allows municipalities to tax visitors and residents 1% of goods and services. The tax will fund upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure if the state legislature approves a referendum for islanders to vote in Fall 2025.

'Made out of terra cotta and clay'

The city's stormwater management plan identified nearly $100 million in needed infrastructure improvements not just to address big storm events but also to mitigate sea-level rise. In the three months he’s worked for Tybee, Bell said, the island has had about seven days where the ocean has risen over U.S. 80. Comparatively, Bell said when he lived on Tybee 20 years ago, he remembers that level of flooding happening only a few days over a four-year span.

“The Department of Natural Resources predicts that maybe by 2040, perhaps up a quarter of the year, we’ll have coastal flooding,” Bell said. “Sea level rise is upon us, and MOST would be one of the tools in the toolbox out there to help us prepare for this new reality.”

Much of the infrastructure on the island is more than a century old, including the sewer pipes that were built around the same time as the development of Fort Screven in the mid-1800s.

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“They’re made out of terra cotta and clay, and they’re all starting to collapse around the same time,” said Bell. “So the frequency of our water, sewer breaks, leaks—it is all increasing yearly. It’s costing us more money to do it, and it’s difficult to do it through increasing utility rates.”

Another potential goal on the legislative agenda for next year is the creation of a public facilities authority, which could bolster the city's ability to finance big projects, such as building a new fire station.

Also on the list is improving the facilities in Memorial Park—tennis courts, pavilions, walking and biking trails, a gym and an old school building. All are considered substandard buildings, according to Bell, and need to be renovated since they are booked and used constantly. The public facilities authority would have a lot more flexibility to construct new facilities than the city itself.

“We’re going to have to make some decisions over the next few years related to city facilities and land use, and a new fire station is high on that list,” Bell said. “Memorial Park is one of two major parks on Tybee, and it’s the one that’s centrally located. We need spaces that better serve the community; there’s no shortage of users of our spaces, just the facilities themselves that are inadequate.”

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The council will discuss and adopt its legislative agenda at its meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12.

Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for the Savannah Morning News, covering municipal governments and other topics. You can reach her at DAmbus@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: tybee island considers municipal option sales tax for stormwater improvements

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TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - City leaders on Tybee Island say there’s lots to do on the island in the weeks ahead for this holiday season.

Tybrisa Street has transformed into full holiday mode. The palm trees are full of lights, the stores are decked out for Christmas, and it’s all to give back to locals this holiday season.

Cassidi Kendrick with the City of Tybee says,” winter is definitely a little bit slower time out here on the island.”

While tourism is slowing down with the holiday season, the fun on Tybee is only picking up. With less crowds and traffic to sift through, Tybee is hoping more locals can take advantage of all the island has to offer.

“The majority of the activities that take place in the off season during the holidays are really geared towards our locals.. when we do market events, we’re bringing out experiences that the locals may not get to have all year long,” said Kendrick.

Events like the annual Christmas parade, New Years Eve fireworks, and the New Year’s Day polar plunge.

“So come out for those days, sit out on the beach and watch the fireworks show and then that next morning, New Year’s Day, January 1st, you know, join the thousands of others that come out and take that plunge into the Atlantic Ocean to kick off the New Year,” said Kendrick.

Volunteers along with the island’s Public Works Department have been hard at work giving the island a festive look for the holidays while keeping it unique to Tybee.

“We have several large light displays and then we do large festivals during the holidays to try and get people to come out and visit us on Tybee. So without those Main Street volunteers and public work staff, we would not be able to get it all done,” said Kendrick.

And an added incentive to visit the island, there is free parking from now until the New Year. It’s all to prioritize the local community this holiday season.

“Come out and experience the community when it’s a little less crowded and get to see some of the things outside of the beach,” said Kendrick.

That Parade of Lights is happening Friday, December 6th. For a full list of events, click here.

Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - Short-term vacation rentals in Tybee Island have been a hot topic for debate over the past couple of months.

On Wednesday, the city is hosting a meeting to make sure all rental owners are on the same page with the new ordinance.

This issue has been a flashpoint in the community in the past, becoming the subject of a lot of debate and tension, but Tybee Island’s city manager says these meetings aren’t to argue about the ordinance, rather to make sure rental owners are all on the same page with this ordinance.

Something new for 2025 will be that when property owners renew their STVR permits, they’ll be starting from scratch.

If you have an STVR permit right now and meet all ordinance requirements, like being an active short-term rental that can show proof the property has been rented for 60 or more days in the previous calendar year - you’ll still have one in 2025.

The island is hoping this will help property owners have better clarity on this new process.

“We’re not looking to debate the ordinance over the next few days. It’s simply describing a new application process that’s hopefully going to benefit everyone involved and provide protection for everyone really,” said City Manager Bret Bell

Tybee Island’s Mayor Brian West says the most recent ordinances have been designed to reduce the number of STVR permits in neighborhoods, which means it could be harder to renew those permits at the beginning of next year.

“People who are coming to apply to renew their permits in January, because of the ordinances and the way they’re written, may find that it’s more difficult to renew their permit because the ordinances designed to reduce the number of rentals in all the neighborhoods,” said Mayor Brian West.

The new application process opens on January 1st, 2025 and permit holders have until the end of March to fill it out.

The STVR Stakeholder Application Process Meeting will be held at 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. If you can’t make Wednesday’s meeting, you can attend Thursday’s meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Both meeting will be in the council chambers of the Public Safety Building on Van Horn Street. These sessions will be held to review the new process with owner-operators and other interested citizens.

It’s also important to note that a separate meeting will be held for Property Management Companies about the new rental process.

If you are a property management company and did not receive meeting information, please send an e-mail to whattrich@cityoftybee.gov.

Copyright 2024 WTOC. All rights reserved.