Okeechobee County TDC approves budget and new tourism and event facility manager, county to pay 20%

The Okeechobee County Tourist Development Council on Tuesday approved a revised tourism budget and authorized creation of a tourism and event facility manager position, contingent on county-commissioner review, with the county general fund to pay 20% of the manager’s salary and the Tourist Development Fund paying the remaining 80%.

The vote followed a presentation from Denise Whitehead, the county’s tourism director, who reviewed current collections and proposed a reorganization that would move an Agri Civic Center manager position from the general fund into the tourism budget and add a full-time maintenance technician funded by tourism revenue. "I will need the board to accept the budget as presented and to also accept this proposal because it will affect this year's budget," Whitehead said during the meeting.

Whitehead told the board the tourism fund is on track for roughly $505,000–$510,000 in revenue for the fiscal year and that she had submitted an initial budget that set salaries at $130,967, operating costs at about $326,095 and total budgeted tourism spending at roughly $457,061. She said the proposed manager salary range is $60,000–$91,000 (typical new hires would start near the low end) and that a replacement full-time maintenance technician would start around $37,000.

The council voted to accept the proposed budget as presented and then considered the staffing proposal. After discussion about whether the county should share the new manager’s cost, a board member moved an amendment that the county cover 20% of the manager’s salary and the Tourist Development Fund cover 80%. That amendment passed unanimously; the board then passed the main motion as amended. Whitehead said she will present the board’s action to the Board of County Commissioners, which must approve payroll-source changes before they take effect.

Board members questioned the timing because county commissioners are preparing a tight overall county budget. One commissioner present cautioned that pending state actions could reduce county revenues and urged caution before shifting more general-fund burdens. Whitehead said she could adjust operational promotional spending to accommodate the position if necessary and noted she had been actively recruiting for the vacant Agri Civic Center manager role without success.

Next steps: Whitehead will forward the amended staffing proposal to the Board of County Commissioners for final authorization. If the BOCC requests further review, the TDC will reconvene to consider any change.

Votes at a glance: The council voted unanimously to accept the budget as presented and unanimously approved the hiring plan as amended (county 20% / tourism 80%).