Ocean Shores’ Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) moved to tighten its reimbursement and oversight procedures, agreeing to form a small review committee to approve invoices before city payment and to require clearer documentation from funded events and hotels.

The committee discussed whether the panel should review invoices on a standing monthly date or use a smaller warrant-style committee to sign off before the city cuts checks on Fridays. Speaker 1 asked, “do we have authorization to issue payment for this?” and urged that invoices and quotes be approved in committee so individuals are not required to front costs. Speaker 3 proposed, “What if you did, like, a, like, a warrant committee?” and several members supported a 2–3 person review group that would sign off electronically and report approvals to the full council warrant list.

Why it matters: LTAC distributes lodging-tax funds used for tourism marketing and events; tightening review is intended to prevent over-awarding, ensure budget transparency and speed payments without requiring individual members to front expenses. The committee agreed to draft a one-page policy describing the warrant committee’s responsibilities, timing and backup procedures.

Committee members also agreed to strengthen award conditions. Speaker 2 noted that current agreement language requires published credit for funded materials but that the Visit Ocean Shores site did not consistently show such credit; the committee decided to clarify that any publication, print or digital, produced with LTAC funds must carry credit and that the award letter to recipients will include that requirement. Speaker 2 said the change should explicitly cover “digital” materials so online marketing receives the same attribution as print.

Data verification was another key point. Speaker 2 cautioned against accepting unchecked self-reported room-night counts: “I can write down anything I want to say on a form, and that doesn't make it true,” they said, urging hotel-supplied reports or email confirmations as acceptable backup. Members discussed adding fields on reimbursement forms to capture vendor names, purpose, and a city/county tracking number to make later public-records requests and audits easier.

Timing and reporting: the LTAC agreed quarterly financial reviews and reports will be provided to the finance committee and council. Speaker 1 described a simple spreadsheet that would list each award’s starting balance and subsequent approvals so reviewers can verify remaining funds before additional disbursements. The committee targeted having the updated form and agreement language ready in January to enable disbursements early in the year.

Procedural note: Speaker 2 said “Motion” while pushing for stronger documentation requirements; the transcript contains no recorded second or formal vote on that motion. No formal vote tallies or passed ordinances were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The committee set its next regular meeting for the fourth Thursday in January — Jan. 22 at 3:00 p.m. — and members closed the discussion with plans to circulate the drafted warrant-committee policy and revised award letter language for review.

The LTAC did not record any final legislative actions in the transcript; committee members will return with proposed policy language and forms at upcoming meetings.