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Tourism staff outlines budget priorities, grant balances and research plans ahead of next fiscal year
Summary
Staff briefed the council on the fiscal-year budget timeline, remaining overnight-stays grant balance, plans for a research RFP and advertising spend; staff said $45,500 remained in the overnight-stays grant pool and that the office plans to issue an RFP for visitor research after weighing cost and value.
Council staff presented a budget and program update, telling the Tourism Development Council the fiscal budget schedule will accelerate internal review and that staff will bring a proposed budget and specific line-item changes for council discussion at the next meeting.
Staff reported a remaining balance of $45,500 in the overnight‑stays grant program for the current fiscal year and said the regional drive‑market grant program remains available on a rolling basis. Staff reviewed past changes to grant rules — including attempts to time-limit recurring event support and to tighten verification of room nights — and said some proposed changes were not adopted by the council or commission but that most revisions were implemented in recent years.
The office said it will draft a research RFP to obtain a more precise, annual visitor‑count study. Staff noted that high‑quality visitor research contracts often run “well over” $50,000–$100,000, and explained the office previously prioritized marketing spend over costly research; staff said the Commission-approved transition to local tax collection (self-collection) has improved available data but that a dedicated research contract would aid longer‑term decisions.
Staff also reviewed ongoing marketing activity: the office’s advertising plan for the fiscal year totals about $500,000 in direct media buys, with roughly $350,000 allocated to online digital buys; production and creative costs are additional. Staff said vendor SEO and campaign performance reports will be provided monthly now that the website is live.
Personnel and governance notes included that longtime contributor Tom Grimes retired and that two council seats — Mr. Baker’s and Michelle Brown’s — will expire; Baker told the board he intends to reapply and one council member said they will not reapply. Staff said the open advisory seats will be advertised by county administration and may move to the County Commission agenda for appointment.
Staff reminded the council that the discretionary fund process remains the route for solicited events and that staff will present additional budget decisions and grant assessments at upcoming meetings.
