Patrick County supervisors voted Aug. 11 to amend the county’s transient occupancy tax ordinance to reflect a 6% levy and to freeze tourism sponsorship grant awards while the county’s Tourism Advisory Council reviews proposed application changes.

The tax change implements a board motion first passed May 27; the board’s amendment to the transient occupancy tax ordinance was adopted in a roll‑call vote (Supervisor Marshall and Supervisor Kendrick recorded “no”; Supervisor Perry, Supervisor Overby and the chair recorded “aye”). The amendment aligns the ordinance text with the board’s earlier motion increasing the effective levy from 5% to 6%.

Public comment: Kurt Bosenmeier, who identified himself as a member of the county’s tourism advisory group from the Smith River district, urged the board to postpone changes to the tourism sponsorship grant program until the advisory council had a chance to review them. Bosenmeier told the board the tourism advisory council — created in 2007 — has been excluded from staffing, budget and planning discussions and said the council had not been asked for input on the proposed administrative changes. He also said he was concerned about a provision that omits a reference to diversion of unused transient occupancy tax funds and warned of possible mingling of tourism funds with EDA money. “As a taxpayer, I am unhappy that the county is sitting on $3,500,000 in excess reserve funds,” Bosenmeier said, and added he feared another tax increase would fall on lodging operators.

Grant administration changes and board action: county staff proposed shifting the tourism sponsorship program from a rolling, first‑come, first‑served model to two fixed application cycles each year. Staff and the director of economic development and tourism explained the administrative change was intended to increase participation and to allow marketing and coordinated review; they said no funding level would change. Staff stated the sponsorship line in the adopted budget was approximately $86,000 for the year and that roughly $46,000 had already been awarded for events earlier in the fiscal year.

During discussion a supervisor moved to table the updated sponsorship application until the tourism advisory council could review and provide input. That motion was later modified to include a freeze on further grant approvals until the advisory council reported back. The board adopted the freeze and the tabling motion; supervisors expressed a desire for a short timeline so the advisory council would act quickly rather than delay the change for months.

Why it matters: the transient occupancy tax funds and the sponsorship grants are the county’s primary tools for supporting tourism events and promotion. Bosenmeier and at least one supervisor raised concerns about transparency and oversight of the program and about the county’s reserve levels. The board’s actions mean grant awards will be paused until the advisory council reviews the proposed application and administrative process; the tax ordinance amendment shifts incoming lodging revenue flows and requires the county to reflect the higher levy in ordinance text.

Next steps: staff will notify applicants and the tourism advisory council of the freeze and schedule a review; the board asked for a prompt advisory review and discussion at the next feasible meeting.