Walton County tourism council orders budget workshop after treasurer flags sponsorship spending, reserves dip

The Walton County Tourist Development Council voted Tuesday to hold a budget workshop after Treasurer Tiffany urged the council to scrutinize sponsorships, travel spending and other large “buckets” within the tourism budget.

Tiffany said she had reviewed weekly approvals and noticed large sums being spent in loosely defined sponsorship buckets, including payments to the Walton County Chamber. “We have spent $98,000 in the last 4… since 2020. Of this year alone, we've already spent 50% of what we spent last year with the Walton County Chamber,” Tiffany said, urging the council to demand more detailed line-item reporting.

The comment followed a staff presentation of the latest financial report for the TDT (tourist development tax). Summer Offer of the Office of Management and Budget told the council that for the month of February TDT expenditures totaled $4,051,891 and year-to-date actual expenditures were $22,235,123. Total revenue for the month including interest and collections was reported as $1,900,906. Offer reported South Walton district PDT (bed-tax) collections at $9,589,545 for the current year (an 8.3% decrease compared with the prior year) and North Walton collections at $76,849 (a 10.1% decrease). Reserves were reported at $144,459,426; after projects, encumbrances and beach renourishment, Offer said the reserve balance would be $50,505,161.

Why it matters: the council approves the TDC budget before forwarding it to the Board of County Commissioners. Several members said they want clearer breakdowns so the council can make reasoned recommendations in June when the budget is scheduled for final consideration.

Discussion and council direction: multiple council members pressed for more transparency and the chance to “redline” the budget. Council members asked for department-level detail (for example, advertising, sponsorships, travel, and code-enforcement support paid from TDT). One member asked whether statutory limits exist for marketing spending; legal staff and counsel clarified that state law does not impose a percentage requirement on normal TDT spending but that a 40% marketing minimum only applies when a jurisdiction uses TDT money for public facilities and wants to meet statutory factors that permit that use. The attorney explained that the county had previously converted fixed-dollar ordinance buckets to percentage ranges to give flexibility.

Formal action: a motion to hold a budget workshop was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. Separately, the council approved the financial reports and approved moving director updates to the end of the agenda earlier in the meeting.

Details to follow: council members and several public commenters asked staff for line‑item detail in advance of the June budget vote and to include actual year-to-date spending next to budgeted amounts so the council can identify potential reductions or re‑allocations before finalizing the FY budget.

Ending: Council members said they want a budget process that lets them probe large spending buckets (notably sponsorships) and make recommendations before the TDC forwards the budget to the Board of County Commissioners.