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Chamber urges dedicated tourism manager as occupancy tax receipts climb
Summary
Caldwell Chamber of Commerce President Brian Moore briefed commissioners on tourism’s economic role, reported occupancy-tax growth since 2019, and proposed hiring a tourism manager paid from existing tourism-admin allocations to boost marketing, wayfinding and events.
Brian Moore, president and CEO of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce, presented a tourism overview to the Board of Commissioners and urged targeted investments to position Caldwell County as a destination. Moore said the county’s occupancy‑tax receipts rose from about $139,000 when he started in 2019 to roughly $143,000 in 2025 and suggested reallocating a small portion of tourism administrative funds to hire a dedicated tourism manager rather than requesting regular budget increases.
Moore said a tourism manager would coordinate marketing, event promotion and wayfinding and cited neighboring counties’ successes as examples. “We need a different level of funding… nothing that would require anything out of the regular budget for Caldwell County,” Moore told commissioners. He suggested minor edits to the administration fee structure to fund a hire and noted short‑term rental growth as a contributor to occupancy‑tax collections that also raises regulatory and public‑health considerations.
Commissioners expressed support for developing a plan. County Manager Shane Fox acknowledged prior conversations with Chamber leadership and staff and the board directed staff to consider next steps in budgeting and funding allocations for tourism implementation.
