Cut event promotions, not our skim rate

The La Salle County Board's Tourism Committee is considering seeking municipal sales tax contributions or cutting event promotions rather than cut into the 25-percent share of "pillow tax" funds it keeps for chiefly undocumented administrative purposes.

At the committee's meeting Friday, the concern was raised by news the state's payment of a tourism grant would be postponed. The grant, roughly $30,000, is matched by $30,000 from county "pillow tax" money and pays for the 100,000-copy publication of the annual county tourism attractions magazine.

The report came from Kathy Casstevens, chairman of the La Salle County Tourism Coalition and the Starved Rock Lodge marketing director, who has successfully prepared the grant application in recent years.

The state's reimbursement share usually comes by July 1. But she said this year state officials told her it might not arrive until the end of December.

The tourism fund now shows a deficit of $22,637, said County Auditor Jody Wilkinson.

The committee discussed what to do if the state didn't pay off the grant, and at the same meeting discussed the county tourism budget for next year.

Next year the committee expects roughly $150,000 in "pillow tax" revenue. The "pillow tax" is a county tax added to guest bills at hotels and motels located in the county but outside of city or village boundaries. The county's main source of the tax is from Starved Rock State Lodge.

Right off the top, $37,500 will be kept for "administration."

Up until a few years ago that rate was 30 percent. But it was lowered to 25 percent after the County Board increased the "pillow tax" rate itself on guest bills from 4 to 5 percent.

From the remaining tax revenue, money is budgeted for the county's share of its tourism magazine and the rest is awarded throughout the year to help promote events that will bring overnight guests to the county.

If the full cost of the tourism magazine has to be paid out of pillow tax money it will mean less money for event promotion, committee members said.

As an option, committee members discussed asking the mayor of local cities and villages to attend a future committee meeting. There, they would be asked about contributing a share of their sales tax money to the county for tourism.

The possibility of cutting the county's administrative share got minimal consideration, even though committee members were unable to identify where all that share goes ? other than into the county's general fund.

Officials said some of the "pillow tax" money is spent on secretary services to keep track of tourism funds and take minutes at the committee meetings. At other committee meetings County Board members themselves share taking minutes. Some of the "pillow tax" money also goes to pay for the committee members to attend the meetings.

Casstevens is paid nothing for her grant work.

Although the committee approved the proposed tourism budget, Board Chairman Jerry Hicks, D-Marseilles, who was present, said it still could be adjusted.

Also present were committee members Jack Lenninger, R-Marseilles, the committee chairman, and Jill Bernal, D-Peru; Sandi Billard, R-Oglesby; Bob Jakupcak, D-Streator; Art Rigby, D-Peru; and Susan Thornton, R-Ottawa. Absent was Randy Freeman, R-Lostant.

Sourced=mywebtimes