On Tuesday, the Tourist Development Council voted to reduce the administrative fee that County Clerk Pam Childers deducted from the bed taxes collected from hotel and condominium rentals. For nearly two years, the TDC has tried to get the clerk to tell them what were her actual costs are in administrating the program.
Childers and former County Administrator Janice Gilley dodged TDC questions about costs and expenditures. Last year, the clerk tried to get away with giving the TDC what she called a “desk audit,” claiming it was the same numbers an auditor would produce. But the board didn’t buy it. Finally, the TDC got the State Auditor involved and her staff is still auditing the clerk’s records.
TDC chairman David Bear explained to me, “The statute’s pretty clear about what is allowed to be used for administration of the program. And it says the actual cost, they may retain a portion of the taxes, but not to exceed 3%.”
Childers had always taken 3%. According to Bear, she claimed that her cost was more than that percentage. However, that percentage has generated more money each year for the clerk as bed tax collections have soared.
“The tourist development tax collections continue to climb,” Bear said on WCOA. “And of course, there’s no additional work that gets done year after year. It’s the same work, collecting it and remitting it to the county.”
When Commissioner Jeff Bergosh made the motion to approve the budget that had Childers getting $562,500, board member Ronnie Rivera asked whether the TDC could change that line item. Bergosh asked Mike Davis from Childers’ office how much was it actually costing them to handle the bed taxes.
Bear said Davis replied, “Not as much as we had budgeted.”
The TDC had budgeted $450,000-$460,000—the chairman couldn’t remember the exact number—for the administrative fee. Bear said, “And (Davis) said, ‘No, it’s going to be more like it was the prior year,’ which was $330,000. That’s where they’re again this year.”
Davis told the board that he didn’t think the cost would go up for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Bear said, “So Bergosh proposed to change the number to $350,000.”
The leftover funds were moved into reserves. Board member Jim Reeves was the only one to vote against the motion.
The TDC budget will go to the Board of County Commissioners for final approval.
