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County staff: lodging-tax recipients to receive full remittance despite treasurerfee dispute
Summary
County staff told the lodging tax panel that distributions to the Telluride Tourism Board and the Norwood Chamber have been and will be remitted in full even though the county treasurer has begun charging a statutory treasurer fee; staff plan to use a roughly $8,000 fund balance to offset the fee while they work through legal interpretations.
Mike, a county staff member, told the lodging tax panel the county has continued remitting full lodging-tax distributions to the Telluride Tourism Board and the Norwood Chamber even after the county treasurer began charging a treasurer fee to county-held funds.
The action arose after Brandy Hatfield, the county treasurer, "determined that her interpretation of statute was she should be charging these treasurer fees to all county funds," Mike said, and that she "feels strongly ... that she would have liability if she did not." County staff, the county attorney and the deputy manager have presented a different legal interpretation, he said.
Why it matters: the fee reduces the amounts available to tourism and chamber recipients. Mike said the county has been making up the difference so far. He identified a remnant lodging-tax fund balance that dates back to when John Hunner was clerk. That balance is approximately $8,000 and, Mike said, the county plans to use it to offset the treasurer fees for now so the tourism recipients receive what they expect.
Panel members and staff clarified that the fee percentage is 2% (Mike said he had earlier reported 4% in error), not 4%, and that the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) directing lodging-tax remittances require payments to the designated tourism entities. Mike said that once the remnant balance is exhausted (he estimated roughly three years at current burn rates) the county would begin supplementing the lodging-tax fund from the general fund to maintain full distributions.
The panel asked for documentation and for the county to continue to coordinate with the treasurer and the county attorney while the legal interpretation is resolved. No formal policy change or vote was taken at the meeting; staff presented the accounting approach and answered questions.
Next steps: staff will continue remitting full distributions while using the identified fund balance to cover the fee temporarily and will report back to the panel; the group scheduled its next meeting for June 18 at 1 p.m.
Quotes in context: Mike said the treasurer "feels strongly ... that she would have liability if she did not," summarizing the treasurer's position and the county's ongoing internal disagreement about statutory interpretation.
Proper names: San Miguel County; Brandy Hatfield; John Hunner; Norwood Chamber; Telluride Tourism Board.
