To fund or not to fund

By Charles Sowell  

AUGUST 25, 2011 9:36 a.m. (0)

H.G. “Butch” Kirven would like Greenville County Council to start looking at the big picture on accommodations tax disbursements.

It is a perennial fight at County Square. The county’s accommodations tax committee – made up largely of hotel and travel executives – recommends and the county council changes in favor of events in the county.

“A big picture approach to this is hugely important,” said Chris Stone of the Greenville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “It is what the law is designed to do. Put more heads in beds by people who live more than 50 miles away from Greenville.”

Greenville County has about $100,000 to spend. Last year most went to Freedom Weekend Aloft and the Highland Games. Virtually nothing was left for events like Artisphere.

Joe Dill says that suits him just fine. “I can’t see us spending our accommodations tax money to fill hotel rooms in Greenville. I’d much rather see it go toward events that will bring revenue in to the county.”

Stone said visitors don’t see city limits signs.

“If you’ve got a convention or big event filling county hotel rooms around Pelham and I-85, then there will be spillover that goes to nearby city hotel rooms and the reverse is true when the city has a big event,” Stone said.

Council voted to form a committee to study the issue.

The state Tourism Expenditure Review Committee questioned the money the county gave Freedom Weekend Aloft and froze $30,000 earlier this year.

Dill said the money has been released and the state panel has since slid into disarray with many members resigning.

The county expects about $777,000 in accommodations tax money this year. The city will get $1.25 million. That $500,000 difference had generated some degree of enmity on county council.

City officials say they have given $40,000 to events that have a county connection in addition to a city benefit: $10,000 to the Highland Games, $5,000 to the BMW charity Pro-Am and $25,000 to Medalist Sports, which puts on the annual bike race.

In a letter to council members, Kirven said, “The problem confronting both the Advisory Committee and County Council is compounded because A-Tax revenue has declined and there is not enough to go around to all of the worthy applicants. The policy should be a guide for a more equitable distribution of the available funds and thus encourage applicants to work harder to attract private sponsorships and increase self-generated revenue while relying less on public funding through the A-Tax.”