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Polk County forms committee to review hotel/motel occupancy tax allocations and potential recipients
Summary
The court directed staff to compile historical hotel‑occupancy tax recipients and appointed a small committee to recommend a redistribution or reaffirmation of existing allocations, with a focus on tourism‑related projects beginning October 1.
Polk County Commissioners Court on April 22 directed staff to assemble historical records of hotel‑motel occupancy tax distributions and created a committee to review current and past recipients and recommend how occupancy tax (HOT) revenues should be allocated beginning Oct. 1.
County staff said current distributions provide 65% of hotel‑occupancy tax revenue to outside organizations (35% to Polk County Chamber of Commerce and 30% to the Polk County Higher Education and Technology Foundation under existing guidance) while the county retains 15% for county‑led tourism activities, leaving roughly 20% potentially available to address additional requests.
Why it matters: The court noted several organizations historically applied for HOT funds but are not currently funded. The court said eligible uses are tourism activities that attract overnight stays ("heads in beds"), such as fairs, fireworks and conferences; county departments also submitted event requests that could qualify if attendees travel from outside ZIP codes and require overnight lodging.
Committee membership and next steps
Commissioner Robertson agreed to serve on the committee; staff recommended including Terry Williams (county finance) and a representative from the county clerk’s office to compile the financial history. The court asked that staff return with a breakdown of previous recipients and proposed allocations for commissioners to review at the next agenda.
Ending
Staff will prepare a packet summarizing historical HOT distributions and a committee recommendation for the court to consider at a future meeting.
