Jefferson city council, Chamber disagree on use of tourism dollars
How the anticipated hotel/motel tax revenue generated by the new Cobblestone Hotel and Suites will be spent is under consideration by a committee appointed March 10 by Jefferson mayor Craig Berry. Eighty percent of the revenue must be spent to promote tourism in Jefferson according to city ordinance. That amount is estimated to grow from about $37,000 in 2014 to about $100,000 annually with the opening of the new hotel adjacent to Wild Rose Jefferson.
Since the hotel/motel tax was approved in 2001, the tax revenue has been used by the Greene County Chamber, as directed by the ballot question approved by voters. In recent months, though, that has come into question, particularly since the ordinance passed to enact the ballot question specified “tourism” but not the Chamber. Bills submitted by the Chamber for reimbursement as tourism expenses have been under added scrutiny by the city council.
Berry suggested to the city council Tuesday night that a committee be established to review the bills submitted, but first the committee would set up criteria for allowed expenses. The council would operate within the criteria, “and the organizations that come in for the funding would know whether their bills or proposals apply to this stack of money,” Berry said.
He added that he favors funding events and projects, not “ongoing” expenses.
Council member Lisa Jaskey had already volunteered for the committee. She said she is suited to serve on the committee because she previously worked for the Greene County Chamber, and part of her job was to submit tourism-related bills to the city for reimbursement.
Jaskey and council member Larry Teeples were appointed to the committee. Teeples is also a voting member of the Jefferson Parks and Recreation Commission, which receives the other 20 percent of the tax revenue. Berry and city administrator Mike Palmer complete the committee.
A task force assembled by the Chamber is already at work discussing the use of the hotel/motel tax money. Read an archived GCNO post about the task force here.
Organizing the task force seemed in January to accomplish the Chamber’s goal of gaining the council’s consent to finance principal and interest payments on a Welcome Center out of tourism funds, but to date Berry has refused to sign the verification needed for financing. Work on the Welcome Center has stalled pending approval of a loan, which is pending assurance that hotel/motel tax funds can be used for that purpose.
The task force held its first meeting Feb. 23. Bob and Joyce Ausberger, representing the Lincoln Highway Association, were the only persons at the meeting who are not on the Chamber board or the city council. Berry and Jaskey were both there. The task force meets again March 23.
At the March 10 city council meeting, after Berry appointed his new committee, Chamber vice president John Brunow addressed the council. He reminded the council that the task force is at work formulating a recommendation about the future of promoting tourism and asked if Berry’s committee would also be open to Chamber members. Berry told Brunow the new committee will have no representation from the Chamber.
Brunow had on Monday sent a letter to Rep Chip Baltimore asking for his help in gaining clarification from the Iowa Attorney General of whether a city council can change by ordinance the allocation of tax funds when voters approved not only the tax, but how it was to be allocated, on a public ballot. “The guidance of his ruling will reduce the need for seeking court action to clarify how decisions can be made about future allocation of hotel/motel taxes in Jefferson,” Brunow’s letter to Baltimore stated.
Berry and most city council members had received copies of Brunow’s letter prior to the meeting.
Brunow reminded Berry that he and Teeples were both on the city council in 2001 when the ballot issue, stating the allocation was to be to the Chamber, was approved. The proposed tax “clearly was presented to the public as an allocation of funds of 20 percent to Park and Rec and 80 percent to the Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce. Is that your memory of the transaction?” Brunow asked Berry.
“I believe that’s what we talked about,” was Berry’s answer.
Brunow has not yet received a response from Baltimore.
