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Committee approves routing county LTCB funds through Rockford CVB for Greater Freeport Partnership marketing
Summary
Stephenson County’s Planning and Development Committee approved allocating state Local Tourism and Convention Bureau funds to be processed by the Rockford‑area Convention & Visitors Bureau and used for marketing administered by the Greater Freeport Partnership; committee members requested documentation of state reporting and vendor invoices.
The Stephenson County Planning and Development Committee voted to accept and authorize use of state Local Tourism and Convention Bureau (LTCB) funds routed through the Rockford‑area Convention & Visitors Bureau to support tourism marketing administered by the Greater Freeport Partnership.
The partnership representative told the committee the arrangement makes Stephenson County eligible to receive about $50,000–$57,000 in LTCB funds that the county had not been receiving because the county does not have a separate tourism board and fiscal account. The representative said Rockford’s CVB agreed to act as a fiduciary and pay approved invoices on the county’s behalf while Rockford prepares required reports to the state.
“Basically they’re paying the bills,” the representative said, adding that the partnership will “do all of the marketing and promotion.”
Committee members asked how Rockford CVB would document impressions, mailers, invoices and other required state reporting. The representative said the partnership will approve invoices before Rockford pays them and will provide Rockford the data Rockford needs to report to the state.
Motion and vote: a motion to approve the LTCB allocation was moved and seconded by committee members on the record; the committee chair called a voice vote and said, “Aye.” The motion carried by voice vote; individual tallies were not specified in the transcript.
Why it matters: LTCB funds are restricted state tourism dollars derived from lodging taxes; routing through a regional CVB can allow smaller counties without a separate tourism board to access marketing dollars, but it requires clear oversight and reporting to meet state requirements.
Ending: committee members said they want to ensure Rockford’s reporting will show specifically how funds were spent to promote Freeport and Stephenson County; the partnership representative said Rockford is serving primarily as fiduciary and the partnership will control marketing decisions and data provided for state reports.
