Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees weigh keeping tourism fee local vs. sending $70,000 to county visitors bureau
Summary
Board members debated whether Manteno should continue sending $60,000 plus $5,000 per hotel to the county visitors bureau or retain and spend those tourism funds locally on events. Trustees discussed fairness between hotels and short-term rentals and asked staff to study options before next budget cycle.
Unidentified Speaker 3 summarized the village's current tourism agreement and fee structure: "Our current agreement is $60,000 annual fee plus 5,000 per hotel. We have 2, so we pay them $70,000 a year. And that money has to be used for tourism. You can't just use it for general funds." Several trustees questioned whether the village gets sufficient return on that payment and whether the village could use the funds to run its own events, such as Oktoberfest or music on Main Street.
Unidentified Speaker 1 said the village might not see a "huge, huge return" from the countywide distribution and suggested the village could do more with the money locally. Unidentified Speaker 4 and others cautioned about fairness and competition, arguing that similar tax treatment for hotels and short-term rentals is desirable so businesses compete on equal footing.
Board members discussed timing (the hotel tax typically starts May 1) and whether neighboring towns' matching contributions produce better outcomes. No change to the existing agreement was made; trustees said the topic should be examined further ahead of next year's budget and that staff could bring options and potential revenue/expense trade-offs for consideration.
