Stanley Mayor Steve Botti says that small businesses in the Sawtooth Valley town lost about $1.5 million dollars in revenue from the Wapiti Fire that has burned more than 128,000 acres with 85% containment.
Stanley is one of 22 resort towns in Idaho that uses a local “option” tax, in addition to the state’s 6% sales tax rate to provide extra revenue for the local economy from tourism. Stanley has a 2.5% option tax, which is about two-thirds of the town’s revenue.
Small businesses in Stanley make most of their revenue from June through late September, and the Wapiti fire affected those businesses during their prime revenue period.
“A large part of the Sawtooth Mountains was closed by the Forest Service because of the hazards of the fire. So that was not accessible. All of those things contributed to a significant reduction in visitation during the months of August and September,” Botti said.
He says that option tax revenues were down about 24% in August and estimates September’s revenue loss will be about the same.
“The losses to the businesses themselves, when we estimated the $1.5 million, that's not our option tax. That's their revenue. The Small Business Administration and the governor's office have agreed to declare Economic Injury Disaster in Custer County, which opens up the availability of Small Business Administration disaster loans to local businesses,” Botti said.
He says that the town is working with state and county emergency services and the Forest Service to discuss plans and responses for future fires.