Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council weighs cutting Chamber funding while expanding in-kind and tourism allocations
Summary
A councilmember proposed removing Chamber of Commerce funding from the tentative budget; other members defended the Chamber’s tourism and marketing role, discussed bed-tax matching, and debated a new $50,000 'in-kind' line that could raise in-kind allocations to $100,000 for community events.
A proposal to stop funding the Chamber of Commerce drew sharp back-and-forth debate at the Nogales special meeting on May 20.
One councilmember asked that the Chamber’s line be removed from the budget. Council members, the vice mayor and city manager responded that the Chamber and the Port Authority perform functions the city lacks in-house — destination marketing, visitor services, and grant or match coordination — and that a $50,000 city contribution can leverage matching advertising funds from the Arizona Office of Tourism. As one councilmember explained, the bed-tax funds and a chamber contribution often produce a one-to-one match in co-op advertising.
Council also discussed a new 'services from agencies' line and an expanded in-kind allocation. Sergio explained that an extra $50,000 had been added to make in-kind and agency services more transparent; some members said that increases could create perceptions of favoritism and asked the city attorney to confirm legal parameters. One councilmember noted this meant the in-kind total could effectively reach $100,000 when combined with existing allocations and urged staff to provide regular reports on in-kind spending.
What’s next: Staff offered to provide more detailed reporting on in-kind expenditures (quarterly or monthly) and to ask the city attorney to review policy; the tentative budget retains the Chamber and port funding lines pending further council direction and the formal public-hearing process.
