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Commission keeps flexible hotel-motel fund plan as tourism groups press for up-front commitments
Summary
Presenters from regional tourism groups asked Washington County to invest lodging-tax dollars in coordinated marketing and event guarantees; commissioners agreed to budget projected revenue but left most allocations to the CIA committee for periodic approvals, prompting concerns from local tourism directors about planning uncertainty.
Washington County commissioners heard presentations from three tourism entities and agreed to budget projected hotel-motel revenue while keeping most spending flexible through the countys CIA committee, a decision that commissioners said preserves responsiveness to opportunities but that local tourism leaders said makes seasonal planning difficult.
Alicia of Northeast Tennessee Tourism told the commission the legislatures recent change — Tennessee House Bill 2119 — requires lodging-tax proceeds to be released to local recipients more quickly and presents an opportunity to make tourism dollars "work in real time." Alicia said the group is seeking $100,000 from lodging-tax collections to fund a unified county brand and targeted Q3/Q4 campaigns. "Every dollar you spend, $20 comes back," Alicia said, citing visitor-spending metrics and a 20:1 return figure presented to the commission.
Cameo Waters, Jonesboros tourism and main-street director, described a short video briefing and requested $150,000 to sustain festivals and marketing that drive room nights in Jonesboro. Brenda of the Convention & Visitors Bureau outlined FY25 lodging-tax collections and large-event economic impacts — including the Big South basketball championship — and requested $300,000, describing both visitor-spending totals and the need for funds to serve as a financial guarantee for major events.
Commissioners and staff said the county expects to budget roughly $550,000 in hotel-motel revenue for FY26-27, with $120,000 pre-committed to an airline marketing agreement. The administration proposed leaving the remainder (~$430,000) available to the CIA committee to vet and allocate through the year rather than pre-committing all funds. Mayor Grandandy described that approach as granting "flexibility" to seize high-return opportunities while preserving county oversight: CIA recommendations would return to the full commission for final approval.
Several commissioners flagged the tradeoffs. Commissioner Carter and others asked whether quarterly or ad-hoc distributions would hamper recipients that must sign contracts or line up vendors months in advance. Commissioner Wheeler asked whether the timing imposed by HB 2119 — and quicker disbursement expectations — would complicate planning for fourth-quarter events. Commissioners also requested clearer account-category labels in budget documents to distinguish restricted funds (for example, opioid-abatement allocations) from hotel-motel or general-fund appropriations.
The commission did not take a final allocation vote; instead, members said the CIA committee process and the budget committee review will determine specific disbursements over the coming year. Tourism presenters said they appreciated the countys support but requested earlier signals about likely commitments so they can plan contracts and marketing on seasonal timetables.
