The Anderson City Council unanimously approved the accommodation tax advisory committee's recommendations to award grants from the city's share of the state accommodations (ATAX) tax.

The committee reviewed 33 applications requesting a combined $366,535; the amount available for allocation this year is $304,447.40, staff said. "This year, the city received 33 applications requesting a total of $366,535. The amount available for allocation is $304,447.40," a staff member presenting the item said.

The recommendation followed the committee's evaluation of applications on factors such as tourism track record, data collection, documentation of advertising and promotion, economic impact, other funding sources and the projects' ability to attract and sustain tourism. The presenter said staff concurs with the committee's recommendations and thanked committee members for their work.

Councilmember Newton moved to approve the list as presented; Councilmember Martinez seconded. After brief remarks thanking the committee, the council voted "aye" and the recommendation passed unanimously.

The presenter outlined the distribution formula used for the city's share of the ATAX collections: the first $25,000 plus 5% of total collections is distributed to the general fund, 30% of the remaining balance supports the city's designated tourism agency and the remaining 65% is awarded through the grant program. The presenter said the advisory committee used those funds to allocate awards to the 33 recommended projects.

No roll-call vote with individual member tallies was recorded in the meeting transcript. The council did not request further modifications to the recommended award list during the discussion.

The council moved on to other business after the unanimous approval.