Tourism outlay below goal

Spending tourism tax dollars on promotion has fallen short as money has built up in a reserve fund.

By Barbara Behrendt, Times Staff Writer
Published February 21, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando County's grand plan to lure tourists, and their money, hinges on using so-called bed tax revenues to promote the county's charms to future visitors.

But in recent years, the county has missed its stated goal of spending on promotions 74 percent of the money it receives from a tax on short-term lodgings.

Instead, roughly $300,000 has been collected in a reserve fund for some, as-yet-undetermined project. Some tourism officials have mentioned a possible conference center or some other capital project.

That came as a surprise to County Commission Chairman Chris Kingsley, who sits on the Tourist Development Council and told the Times he doesn't recall ever hearing about plans for a project such as a convention hall or meeting center.

Commissioner Diane Rowden did remember discussions several years ago about setting money aside for capital costs. Watching other counties develop items to attract visitors, such as a tennis center in the works in Pasco County, she said Hernando officials talked about saving for something down the road.

"We wanted to start building that up so that we could attract people," Rowden said.

But the disconnect between the county's formal tourism plan and its actual expenditures is a criticism in an audit of the Tourist Development Council released this month by the clerk of Circuit Court. The auditor said it is time the TDC re-examined the way it allocates its funds.

The TDC sets a goal of spending 74 percent of its revenue on promoting Hernando County as a destination. In reality, only 31 percent has been spent for that purpose.

"The TDC's goals were established in 1996," according to audit services director Peggy Prentice. "The county's tourism trade has grown and changed over the past 11 years. It's time to have the TDC's goals restated."

Sue Rupe, tourism coordinator for the county, said this week she expects to bring a new tourism plan to the County Commission next month. She said the numbers the auditor examined were from a plan that has not been updated in years.

Rupe said the TDC has instead been working under a funding allocation formula set out by then-County Administrator Gary Adams three years ago.

At the time, commissioners were concerned that too much of the tourist money was going to pay salaries and for administrative costs. Adams set up a formula in which about one-third of the money generated from the 3 percent tax on overnight accommodations would pay for promoting the county. Another third would pay for administration.

The final third would go into a category called "product improvement," which is a capital fund for some future project.

When Prentice questioned tourism officials about that category during the audit, they identified a possible plan for a convention center or other meeting center as the purpose for the fund. But Rupe said Wednesday that no specific plan is in place for the money.

Hernando does have a need for a meeting area for larger groups and that might be a place to spend the money, she said. Rupe is looking at feasibility studies of various types of meeting centers from other counties but no such study has been authorized for Hernando.

And neither the TDC nor the County Commission has yet discussed specifics on how to spend the $277,000 that has been set aside.

Rupe said the money could not pay for a project entirely but might be able to help attract other financial aid. Funding any project would be a multiyear effort, said Hernando's business development director Mike McHugh, who oversee's Rupe's department.

"Unless we start saving toward it, we're not going to get there," he said. "Tourism is a long-term investment."

McHugh said the key to picking where to spend the money is going to be based on what fits with Hernando County. He wasn't shying away from the audit comments about needing to align the formal tourism plan with the county's tourist tax money spending habits.

"It was a good audit. The worst thing they said is we're accumulating money," he said. That should help the county hone its tourism goals, McHugh predicted.

"I think it'll generate some good discussion," he said.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 352 848-1434.

By the numbers

4,800 Number of Hernando County residents employed in the local tourism industry.

285 Number of Hernando County residents in the accommodations industry alone.

$3.7-million Payroll for Hernando County residents employed in the accommodations industry.

850 Number of hotel rooms in Hernando County.

14 percent Percentage of sales tax collected in Hernando County that is related to tourism or recreation.

$418,000 Amount Hernando County collected in tourist tax in 2006-07.

$340,000 Amount of the tourist tax Hernando County spent in 2006-07.

559,000 Number of overnight visitor stays within Hernando County in 2006.

$60-million Payroll for those employed in tourism-related businesses in Hernando County.

[Last modified February 20, 2008, 20:11:19]