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Council considers cutting Chamber tourism contract; tourism group warns of reduced reach and uncertain TOT impact
Summary
City staff proposed trimming the city's tourism contract by $350,000 per year and offering a five‑year extension to help the chamber weather the reduction; the Chamber and the Redding Tourism Marketing Group told council the cut would reduce marketing reach and could lower future transient‑occupancy‑tax (TOT) revenue but the extent is uncertain.
City Manager Barry Tippin proposed a $350,000 annual reduction to the city's tourism contract with the chamber of commerce while offering a five‑year contract extension to allow the organization to adjust. The recommendation was made as part of a broader plan to close a roughly $5 million general‑fund shortfall.
Todd Jones, identified in the meeting as the chamber president, told council that reduced funding would "reduce our reach" and make it harder to maintain national media placements and advertising that the chamber buys, and that the group could retool to operate with a smaller budget. He said he could not precisely predict how a reduced marketing budget would translate into lost TOT revenue: "We may lose $350,000 from you spending $350,000. We could lose more. We could lose less. We just don't know."
Ed Rollman, identified as president of the Redding Tourism Marketing Group (Choose Redding), and staff described the TBID (tourism business improvement district) and the tourism marketing group as a separate funding stream that is not under the city’s direct control; staff said that TBID funds (about $1.5 million annually) remain dedicated to hotel‑focused marketing and capital investments and cannot be reallocated by the council.
Why it matters: TOT is a major revenue source for city services and capital projects; staff estimated that the chamber contract contributed to raising average yearly TOT collections from about $4.8 million (10‑year average before the contract) to about $7.2 million during the three years of the contract. Council members were cautious about cutting public‑safety staffing to fund tourism but many indicated support for the recommended cut to the chamber contract as part of the broader package.
Council reaction and follow up: several council members said they wanted to protect police staffing and would accept tourism contract reductions to avoid additional sworn‑staff attrition. Some council members asked staff to obtain further presentations from the Redding Tourism Marketing Group to compare outreach and effectiveness. Tippin said staff receives presentations from the tourism group about twice a year and that the TBID is a separate, dedicated fund. The council directed staff to include the tourism contract reduction as part of the draft budget and to return more information on likely TOT impacts at the next formal budget presentation.
Ending: Jones asked the council to consider a multi‑year extension at a lower rate so the chamber could plan; several council members said they were willing to offer a fixed lower amount over multiple years to provide certainty.
