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Commissioners debate redirecting occupancy-tax dollars to Sports and Events group; tourism CEO offers transparency
Summary
Commissioner Baker proposed Resolution 226-14 to transfer hotel-motel fund appropriations from the Chattanooga Tourism Company to a new Sports and Events Corporation; commissioners questioned staffing, prior commitments and timing, while the tourism company's CEO offered to open financial records. No vote was taken; discussion will continue.
Commissioner Baker introduced Resolution 226-14, a proposal to transfer certain FY2026 hotel-motel fund appropriations from the Chattanooga Tourism Company to the Sports and Events Corporation (TSEC), arguing the county needed a single authority to market and deliver sports events.
Baker traced a 16-month effort to secure collaboration, saying he had repeatedly requested data and that "salary expense had increased by 46% in 4 years" while the tourism organization's advertising—the stated mission—had fallen as a share of total spending. He told the commission the county had allocated $500,000 to the sports committee during the 2025-26 budget and argued that money should follow the work of sports professionals.
Barry White, identified in the meeting as the Chattanooga Tourism Company CEO, resisted characterizations of malfeasance and offered transparency: "We'll open our books completely, to do so," he told commissioners and invited anyone to meet to review strategy, finances and operations. White said the organization operated 112 events in 2025 and defended its legacy role in building the city's tourism product.
Commissioners pressed for more detail on prior commitments and whether pulling allocated funds mid-year would disrupt contracts and staffing that had been hired on the basis of the previously approved budget. Commissioner Sharp noted concern that money already budgeted and used to hire staff and sign contracts could be difficult to reclaim mid-cycle.
Several commissioners framed the issue as a collaboration problem rather than a strictly financial one: they asked whether the city and county could agree on a lodging-tax model and whether short-term rentals and multiple collectors of lodging taxes across jurisdictions were complicating the current system. Barry White and his team said consultants are under contract and results of a lodging tax evaluation were expected in April.
The commission did not vote. Chairman Smith and Baker said they would continue discussion and follow up with the tourism company, the Sports and Events Corporation, consultants and municipal partners.
