The Homer City Council voted unanimously Monday against changing how sales taxes are collected on short-term rentals while advancing a measure that would let residents trap feral rabbits.
Early in the meeting, Mayor Rachel Lord designated September 2026 as Recovery Month and thanked Kachemak Bay Recovery Connection for its work.
The council introduced two items through the consent agenda. One changes the duties of the Parks, Art, Recreation and Culture Advisory Commission. Under it, the commission sends its recommendations about park operations to the city manager, not to parks staff. The other adds a billing category for bulk water users at the Public Works campus. Those users would pay the monthly minimum in any month they buy water. They pay nothing in months they don’t. Both ordinances come back for a public hearing at the next meeting.
Council members held public hearings for five ordinances. The first accepts a $7,000 grant for books and library materials. Library Director Dave Berry told council members through a memo that the Homer Public Library has been receiving Public Libraries Assistance grant money annually since 1978. No one commented, and it passed.
Another ordinance puts $50,000 toward the South Slope Drive Culvert Replacement Project. That pays for agreements with neighbors so water can drain across their land, plus extra money in case costs run over. The council previously appropriated $100,000 for the project. The council passed it without discussion.
A third ordinance puts $17,500 from the city’s Land Fund toward an easement on Easy Street. The last stretch of the road crosses a Native allotment, so the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has to approve the easement. The bureau charges $35,000 for it. The city pays half, and neighboring property owners pay the rest. No one spoke at the hearing, and the council passed it with no opposition.
The council restored an older version of a city code section about the financial guarantee developers must provide before they build. Public Works Director Daniel Kort wrote in a memo that the current rule puts a “significant financial burden” on small-scale developers. It requires 150 percent of the engineer’s cost estimate. The older rule sets it at 100 percent of the project cost and waives it for new subdivisions that can’t file their final map until the roads, sewer and water are done. No one spoke at the hearing and the council adopted it.
The council voted down the short-term rental sales tax ordinance. All six members voted no, including Councilmember Jason Davis, who brought it forward. Right now, hosts report city and borough sales taxes to the borough. The borough passes the city its share. Some hosts have platforms like Airbnb add the tax to the guest's bill. Those hosts still report it to the borough. The ordinance would have changed that for the city's 4.85 percent tax only. The platforms would have collected it when a guest books and sent it to a commission that handles online sales tax for Alaska communities. Hosts would still report the borough's tax to the borough. Davis said the public input has been neutral or opposed, so he saw no point in passing it now. Councilmember Shelly Erickson said the borough has already done its due diligence on collecting the tax. Councilmember Caroline Venuti said the ordinance would burden businesses, especially people who own more than one rental.
Next, the council introduced an ordinance that would let property owners and renters catch feral rabbits and rodents alive on their own property. City code now bans trapping any animal. Councilmembers Jason Davis and Donna Aderhold sponsored the measure to give people a legal way to deal with the rabbits. Councilmember Caroline Venuti said the cost of enforcing it is not worth it and that education is the key to solving the problem. The council introduced it 5-1, with Venuti voting no. They also rejected an amendment on "humane treatment" of captured animals. The sponsors said they will work on wording with the city manager and city attorney before the public hearing at the next meeting.
The council adopted the city's capital improvement plan for 2027 through 2032 without opposition. The plan lists major community projects. A city memo says it helps the city pursue grants and other funding, but being on the list does not commit the city to pay for a project. Council members and the mayor ranked the projects, and staff added up the rankings. The nine highest-ranked projects make up the city's priority list for the 2028 budget year. The Homer Harbor expansion topped the list. Erosion work on the Homer Spit came second and a community recreation center third.
The Homer City Council meets next on Monday, October 12th.
