By Neil Farrell
On the issue of whether motel owners would reauthorize an assessment against their businesses to pay for tourism promotions, the possibility that it would be voted out was apparently “much ado about nothing.”
Moteliers had expressed unanimous opposition to a City takeover of the Tourism Business Improvement District or TBID budget and control of the marketing efforts done through a non-profit Tourism Bureau but when it came down to a protest vote, they backed off.
Motel owners, some business people and marketing professionals with a County Tourism District spoke out against the City’s plan back in January, which was to hire “City” employees to do the work of the non-profit Tourism Bureau.
The City said it wanted to have better control of the TBID budget to fulfill its fiduciary duties to taxpayers and to make sure promotions were done in accordance with community values.
Also, the City’s plan is to use some of the TBID assessments, which now totals more than $800,000 a year (based on a 3-percent fee tacked onto the cost of a room night), and climbing annually with increases in occupancy, for its economic development efforts.
The City wants to attract non-tourism businesses to town in order to diversify the local economy and bring in higher paying jobs than tourism and retail sales can generate. Chabin Concepts was hired to write an economic development plan, with those efforts already underway.
The City has already put its tourism plan into action, and established a new tourism division office at 695 Harbor St., a City-owned building that also houses the Visitor’s Center and Chamber of Commerce.
There had been much apprehension among moteliers over the changes, but when it came down to voting on May 24, no one showed up.
“The City did not receive any protest letters and no one spoke during public comment,” said City Clerk Dana Swanson. “The Council adopted the resolution continuing the TBID assessment for Fiscal Year 2016/17, 5-0.”
A motelier told The Bay News on condition of anonymity, that they had protest votes from more than 80-percent of the properties, far more than needed to kill the TBID. But about a week before the critical vote, they “made a business decision” to withdraw the protest.
The source said the City has put itself in a tight spot, in that while the City’s 2016-17 budget (slated to be delved into on June 14) is counting on a 6-percent increase in TOT, the moteliers are expecting 12%. That’s average of how much the TOT revenues to the City have grown annually under the TBID-Tourism Bureau model that the City has now abandoned.
In his introduction letter to the new budget, City Manager David Buckingham acknowledged this, “Hotelier community is planning for a 10-12% increase in TOT and expects the Tourism Division to ensure this happens.”
The City is now working for them, the source explained. That’s because when TOT increases it means more money into their pockets. Indeed, according to the source, 6-years ago when the TBID started, motels were valued at about $100,000 per room. Now they’re fetching about $180,000 per room. “It’s like the City now works for us,” said the source. Their bottom lines will grow, they added, and the City will be doing all the work.
And if the City’s new tourism team doesn’t perform as expected, they can kill the assessment district for “non-performance” and start over.
Another wrinkle to the plans arose recently, when Deputy City Manager Sam Taylor, who spearheaded the TBID takeover, resigned. Taylor said in a resignation letter that his mother was ill and he wished to return to his hometown of Couer d’Alene, Idaho. He’s taken a job as that city’s deputy city administrator, too.
In a May 15 announcement on Couer d’Alene’s City website, the City said Taylor will start on June 13 and will earn $94,632 annually. He was hired by City Manager David Buckingham just about a year ago at some $113,000 a year.
Also, Buckingham hired Jennifer Little as the new Tourism Manager. She starts June 6 and Taylor’s last day with the City is June 7.
