Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Atrax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves interim ATAX allocation among five chambers; administration to confirm 30% statutory allocation detail before final vote
Summary
Council voted to split $61,810 among five local chambers as an initial ATAX allocation adjustment; council asked administration to confirm whether the required 30% allocation must be to a single agency or may be split, and agreed to revisit the ATAX allocation prior to the public hearing.
Lexington County Council voted during its budget work session to divide an accommodations-tax (ATAX) allocation of $61,810 equally among the county’s five local chambers of commerce but asked administration to confirm whether state rules requiring a 30% allocation limit how the county distributes funds.
A council member proposed dividing the $61,810 total allocation evenly among the five chambers, yielding roughly $12,362 each. Supporters said chambers of varying sizes perform similar tourism and business-promotion functions and recommended equal treatment; others noted equal division would provide relatively larger per‑member support to smaller chambers and suggested per‑member or per‑hotel metrics could produce different allocations.
Council action and follow-up: The motion to split the $61,810 equally among the five chambers carried on a recorded vote. Council asked administration to verify whether the 30% required allocation for specific ATAX purposes must be given to a single agency or may be allocated across multiple recipients, and asked that this clarification be available before the next public hearing. The council will revisit the distribution and finalize ATAX allocations when the clarification is complete.
Why it matters: ATAX funds (accommodations/tourism tax) support advertising and event promotion intended to drive hotel nights and visitor spending; how the county allocates the money directly affects marketing support available to chambers and tourism partners across municipalities.
Next steps: Administration will report back on whether the 30% statutory allocation must be given to a single agency or may be split; council will finalize ATAX allocations before publicly publishing the budget and before the public hearing.
