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Board authorizes tourism agreement with DeForest-Windsor chamber amid questions on scope and timing
Summary
Trustees approved an agreement authorizing the DeForest-Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce to administer tourism-promotion services funded by room taxes; staff and the chamber said a dedicated tourism coordinator would be hired only after room-tax revenues stabilize.
The Village of DeForest voted June 16 to authorize an agreement with the DeForest-Windsor Area Chamber of Commerce to administer tourism-promotion services funded from room-tax revenues generated by incoming hotels.
Bill presented the resolution and explained state law requires 70% of room-tax collections be spent on tourism promotion and development; 30% may be used by the village at its discretion. The board is holding room-tax receipts in a special revenue fund until staff and the chamber define a program and budget.
Luke, the chamber's new executive director, told trustees the chamber would launch a separate tourism division and hire a tourism-marketing staffer who would report jointly to the chamber and village staff. "The position would be entirely independent' tourism and marketing development director," he said, adding the position would be spun out as a new division of the chamber but jointly overseen with village staff.
Trustees pressed on what activities qualify as tourism promotion, whether events such as Fourth of July fireworks or athletic tournaments could be funded from the 70% tourism allocation, and how long it would take to stabilize revenues once the two new hotels open. Staff said allowable tourism spending must meaningfully promote stays that generate hotel nights (for example, tournament marketing, event recruitment or advertising aimed at out-of-area visitors) and that hiring would wait until quarterly revenues support a budgeted employee.
Bill offered projections based on developer estimates that stabilized annual room-tax receipts could be in the low hundreds of thousands (the 70% portion could therefore be roughly in the mid five-figures to low six-figures range, depending on actual occupancy and timing). Trustees and staff also discussed using the village's discretionary 30% to support special events already funded by a village special-revenue account, which could free general-fund dollars for other uses.
After discussion, Alicia moved and Melanie seconded the resolution authorizing the president and clerk to execute the agreement; the voice vote carried and staff will finalize the agreement and quarterly-distribution arrangements.
