Natrona County Parks and Recreation Department Assistant Director Michael Brown said that the commission has opted not to apply a fee of $5 for camping spots in the county at the moment, as per a report.
“At this point, we are not going to implement a $5 reservation fee. That will be reviewed at a later date as we review the potential new reservation system,” Brown said.
According to state law, the county will still collect a 7% lodging tax on overnight camping and a 5% sales tax on overnight camping and shelter and dock rentals. Brown said there would be a 3% credit card convenience fee, and a 30-cent minimum credit card charge would also be collected.
The commission approved the $5 fee during an open meeting last February to cover an operating fee imposed on the county by the third-party reservation system online, Astra, to which the county is looking to switch. It is a per-transaction fee, so it would only be charged once regardless of the number of nights booked.
Last Tuesday, Brown announced that the county would launch reservations for Wednesday under the existing CivicRec system, and this new one, Astra, “may not be implemented this season.”
“If Astra falls through, we probably won’t ever implement [the fee]. If we get Astra up and running, we are going to have to charge that fee because that’s part of their system,” he added.
As taxes take effect, the cost (via the cash-in-envelope) for a single night at a first-come, first-served site will be increased from a base rate of $10 to $12.
Okie Beach, all of Casper Mountain, and other campsites that are part of the online reservation system will be increased to $11.80 for the first night.
Full hook-up locations at Alcova will cost $40.55 on the first night. The following nights will cost $10 per night, plus 12% in-state and local taxes.
Wyoming statute (39-15-10) defines “lodging service” as “the provision of sleeping accommodations to transient guests and shall include the providing of sites for the placement of tents, campers, trailers, mobile homes, or other mobile sleeping accommodations for transient guests.”
This article originally appeared on Oil City News.