Keith County approves visitor promotion grants; lodging-tax deposit partly reflects two years of back taxes

The Keith County Board of Commissioners on June 2 approved promotion grants for three local events and heard an update from the visitor committee that included a lodging-tax revenue note.

The board approved a Keith County Ag Society promotion grant of $9,500 for fair promotion, a Keith County Chamber grant of $3,750 for the Kites and Castles event (scheduled July 26), and a $12,000 promotional grant for the Indian Summer Rendezvous. Each grant was moved, seconded and approved by roll call.

Chamber leadership and visitor staff told the board that the chamber had submitted a separate request for $6,000 in operating support; that request will be included in the county’s budget process for consideration. Visitor committee staff also briefed the commissioners on a lodging-tax deposit in March that appeared large: staff reported the deposit was “to the tune of over a hundred thousand dollars” but explained that roughly $75,000 of that amount represented two years of unpaid tent-camping lodging taxes that had been collected and remitted together. After removing the back taxes, visitor staff said lodging tax receipts remain on pace with prior years and that advertising and promotional outreach appear to be driving interest.

The visitor director described planned advertising, wayfinding and cooperative promotions with regional partners and noted that earlier brochure and outreach efforts were well received. Board members asked staff to include the chamber’s operating request in the formal budget submission and to continue tracking lodging-tax trends as one-time back payments are separated from normal monthly receipts.