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Tourism commission debates how to spend $400,000 retained lodging-tax funds; seeks strategic plan and survey
Summary
Commissioners discussed options for deploying the commission’s retained lodging-tax funds (projected around $400,000) and recommended drafting a focused questionnaire to guide decisions. Participants urged quick, strategic spending to jump-start tourism initiatives rather than holding a large reserve.
Jeff Kuderski, chair of the Franklin Tourism Commission, led a discussion about the commission’s retained lodging-tax funds and how to create an "investment vision" for those dollars.
The discussion matters because commissioners said the commission’s retained funds could be used to seed larger tourism projects, support Engage Franklin’s operations, or underwrite specific events — choices that affect local hotel occupancy and the distribution of lodging-tax revenue.
Commissioners and staff debated whether to hold funds as a reserve or invest them in programs now. One commissioner said, "I feel like I want to see the money go out the door fast," noting a preference to spend for impact rather than accumulate funds long term. Another participant encouraged disciplined spending: use money but spend it properly and avoid wasting the opportunity.
Participants confirmed the funds are held by the city as a repository. Commissioners discussed whether Engage Franklin should receive more ongoing allocations to expand operations and whether some money should be used to hire contractors or fund a professional directory/visitor guide to accelerate marketing.
The commission identified the need for clearer background information — Engage Franklin’s strategic plan and a destination-assessment report prepared earlier — before allocating any major sums. Commissioners asked staff to collect or reissue the existing planning documents and recommended a short, focused questionnaire be circulated to commissioners and stakeholders to prioritize investment areas, timing and scale.
On projections discussed in the meeting, a participant summarized that the commission could expect roughly $400,000 in retained funds by the end of 2025, after current commitments; commissioners asked staff to confirm that projection with updated financials.
Commissioners agreed on next steps: staff will draft questions and circulate them to commissioners for feedback; the commission will review responses, determine whether a special work session is needed, and consider whether to engage a consultant to advise on fund deployment and marketing strategy. Several commissioners recommended including Engage Franklin leadership in future discussions because any spending will affect its programming.
No formal appropriation or policy change was adopted at the meeting; the commission instructed staff to prepare the questionnaire and gather the strategic-plan materials for the next meeting.
