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Commission affirms Lodgers Tax board recommendations after debate over Lions Club funding
Summary
Commissioners discussed a Lodgers Tax recommendation regarding a statewide Lions Club convention swag request; after debate about fund limits and prior awards, the commission accepted the Lodgers Tax board's funding recommendations.
The commission discussed one Lodgers Tax allocation in detail after Commissioner Casaus asked for the item to be pulled from the consent agenda.
Commissioner Casaus said she had received calls about the Lions Club conference and felt the statewide event, expected to bring roughly 100 attendees for five days, merited additional support; she said the group received $5,000 in an earlier meeting and requested another amount for swag. Thomas Martin, chair of the Lodgers Tax board, explained the board's funding decisions: earlier the Lions Club received about half its initial request; at the most recent meeting, the board distributed available funds across many applicants and, because of limited funds, awarded none of the additional $6,000 requested for swag. Martin said the board's approach was to spread available funds as evenly as possible.
Commissioner Paula and others clarified Lodgers Tax scoring: advertising funds carry a requirement that 25% of that advertising budget be spent outside the Clovis area; swag-only funding does not trigger the outside-advertising requirement, which affects scoring. Commissioners noted the board awarded most applicants roughly half of what they sought in that round.
Commissioner Tarson moved to approve the lodgers-tax disbursements as recommended by the Lodgers Tax board; Commissioner Jones seconded. The commission voted unanimously to accept the board's recommendation.
