El Campo council workshop seeks formal agreement with Chamber, discusses restoring HOT funding

At a City Hall workshop called at Council Member Ward’s request, El Campo council members heard a presentation from the El Campo Chamber of Commerce and directed staff to draft a formal agreement outlining responsibilities and financial oversight; the council did not take a formal vote at the meeting.

The workshop focused on the city’s historic use of hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds to support tourism-related work performed by the Chamber of Commerce, the scope of services the chamber provides (events such as Prairie Days and the Christmas Parade and Christmas Mall), and conditions the council wants written into a partnership agreement. City staff said HOT distributions to the chamber historically totaled about $54,000 a year and that those payments were suspended for the current year; staff proposed restoring a portion of that funding for the remainder of the budget cycle (approximately $37,500) if the council directs staff to…