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Council presses tourism office over city‑funded historical‑society post; action deferred
Summary
Councilors asked the tourism director to explain why the historical society director became a city employee paid from hotel/motel revenue and asked municipal finance and the tourism office to provide detailed funding breakdowns; discussion of the hotel/motel tax and the tourism fund was deferred for follow‑up.
The tourism director presented Discover Quinsey’s FY27 budget and marketing work, emphasizing recent investments in a welcome center, digital kiosks and destination campaigns. Councilors probed the decision to place the historical society’s executive director on the city payroll rather than continuing the long‑standing partnership that had previously been funded via quarterly transfers.
City auditor Susan O’Connor explained the statutory allocation for the hotel/motel tax: “The legislation does state that when the money comes in from the occupancy or the hotel motel tax, 85% of that will go to open space and at least 15% will go towards tourism and historical,” she said, noting that the tourism account currently has a balance and that the FY27 tourism budget will be offset by hotel/motel receipts.
Councillors requested a detailed accounting of hotel/motel revenues (both the tourism/historical portion and the open‑space portion), the precise timing of when the historical‑society position became a municipal employee, and the incremental costs to the city of adding benefits and pension obligations. Multiple members said they were comfortable with tourism marketing but wanted clarity on whether the historical society role should remain a city payroll position or be contracted/offset differently.
The committee voted to defer further action and asked the tourism director and municipal finance to provide a written breakdown of hotel/motel receipts, the historic funding flows, and the costs of the historical‑society position before the council takes a final vote.
