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Committee backs capping Chamber tourism payment at $400,000, would earmark rest for road projects
Summary
The Rutherford County budget committee voted to send a resolution to the full commission that would change the Chamber’s hotel-motel allocation from a percent-of-revenue payment to a flat $400,000 and place the remaining funds into a county road/infrastructure fund, with the full commission to consider the resolution in June.
Rutherford County commissioners on the Budget, Finance and Investment Committee on May 27 voted to forward a resolution to the full commission that would cap the Chamber of Commerce’s hotel-motel allocation at $400,000 and earmark the remainder of the county’s hotel-motel revenue for road and related infrastructure projects in unincorporated areas.
Paul (Chamber representative) told commissioners the Chamber’s conventions and visitors bureau has grown in recent years and reported a fund balance (CVB) of about $5.3 million, partly supported by federal ARPA and state marketing grants. "We've added probably... 6,200 rooms in our county now," he said, noting Rutherford County's tourism ranking and the Chamber’s marketing work.
Why commissioners moved: Several members said county infrastructure needs — especially road and interchange work in unincorporated areas — now compete with tourism funding priorities. Commissioner Gu proposed replacing the 2016 private-act distribution (which set a percentage for the Chamber) with a fixed $400,000 payment, directing the remaining hotel-motel tax dollars to an infrastructure fund. He told the committee his "intention is for a road fund" to pay for rural intersection improvements and similar projects.
The committee approved the motion to send the change as a resolution to the full commission; staff said the county attorney will draft the resolution under the county’s private-act authority and the item would be considered at the June 11 commission meeting. Finance staff estimated the committee’s proposed change would free roughly $440,000 in this budget cycle to earmark for roads, subject to final hotel-motel revenue collections.
What’s next: The full commission will receive a formal resolution and legal language from county staff; if approved, the distribution would become a recurring budget line and the county will set up a capital/infrastructure account to manage the earmarked funds.
