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Council tables $1,500 CLI HOT request, approves FY2026 hotel‑occupancy grants totaling $51,000
Summary
The council deferred a Commerce Leadership Institute ($1,500) request for current‑year hotel‑occupancy tax funds so staff can publish a required public hearing; later the council approved a FY2026 hotel‑occupancy tax grant allocation package that reduced one request and funded others to a total of $51,000.
The Commerce City Council on an item about hotel‑occupancy tax (HOT) funds tabled a current‑year request from the Commerce Leadership Institute (CLI) and later approved a resolution allocating FY2026 HOT grants to local organizations.
CLI requested $1,500 from the current fiscal year’s HOT fund to advertise a revived BoDarc Bash 5K and attract out‑of‑town runners. Amy, speaking for CLI, said the funds would support “advertising specifically outside of town to bring runners in for this event.”
City staff told the council the requested $1,500 was available from the HOT fund balance, but noted that amending a budget typically requires a public hearing and that the agenda item had not been advertised in that form. The council voted to table the CLI request so staff could properly publish the amendment and include a public hearing at a future meeting.
Separately, the council considered FY2026 HOT grant requests and a staff report projecting a year‑end fund balance of about $110,000 and budgeted new revenue of $50,000 for FY2026. The council was presented with requests totaling about $54,000, including proposals for the Chamber of Commerce, the Northeast Texas Children’s Museum, a marketing agreement with Texas A&M University‑Commerce athletics, a community engagement specialist, the quilt guild and CLI.
After discussion the council moved to fund each applicant at their requested level except the university marketing agreement, which the council reduced from $15,000 to $12,000; that motion passed with the council voting in favor. The final FY2026 allocation approved at the meeting totaled $51,000.
Staff said the FY2026 allocations would be funded from the HOT fund balance and budgeted revenue and that staff would present details in upcoming budget materials.
