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Page 1 of 4 <br />City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org <br />STAFF REPORT <br />To the Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />From the City Manager <br />DATE: January 12, 2026 <br />SUBJECT <br />Amend Redwood City Municipal Code Chapter 32, Article IV, Section 32.87 (Records to be Kept for a Period <br />of Three Years) to give the City’s Tax Administrator (Finance Director) the authority to issue administrative <br />subpoenas to compel compliance with the City’s Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). No changes to <br />the existing tax structure are proposed. <br />SUMMARY <br />Redwood City assesses a 12% transient occupancy tax (TOT) on the rent charged to guests by hotel <br />operators. The TOT generates $5.0 million in revenue per year for the City’s General Fund. Establishments <br />subject to the TOT are required to maintain records for three years to substantiate the amount of tax <br />owed and make those records available to the City for review. The change recommended by way of this <br />ordinance would give the City’s Tax Administrator (Finance Director) the ability to issue administrative <br />subpoenas to compel operators to deliver such records and ensure compliance with the City’s TOT <br />regulations. A similar provision is in place for the City’s Communications User Tax (CUT) and Utility User <br />Tax (UUT). <br />On December 22, 2025, the City Council waived the first reading and introduced an ordinance amending <br />Redwood City Municipal Code Chapter 32, Article IV, Section 32.87 (Records to be Kept for a Period of <br />Three Years) to give the City’s Tax Administrator (Finance Director) the authority to issue administrative <br />subpoenas to compel compliance with the City’s Uniform Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). No changes to <br />the existing tax structure are proposed. <br />Based on feedback provided by the City Council on December 22, 2025, Finance has sent letters to local <br />hotels informing them of these proposed changes. <br />Also, based on feedback from the City Council, the Finance Departments commits to notifying the City <br />Council when action is taken under the provisions of the proposed amendment to Redwood City Municipal <br />Code Chapter 32, Article IV, Section 32.87 (Records to be Kept for a Period of Three Years). <br />7.B. - Page 1 of 6 <br />178