Any organization that comes from the Escambia County Commission for funds has had to show that they are viable corporation, especially if they are a non-profit. Ron Ellington, spokesman for a hotel group that has held its meetings out of the Sunshine, wants the commissioners to hand over tourism tax dollars on Oct. 1 to an independent authority that has yet to be formed.
The public has not been given any transition plan for the transfer. We know Ellington is lobbying behind closed doors with the county, but the public is yet again put in the dark. Yet there is mad rush to put millions of dollars into an group that we know nothing about.
Red Flag – no organization formed
County Clerk Pam Childers is reporting on Tourist Development Tax Collections Data for the July 2013 returns received in the month of August 2013: “Total collected for the July 2013 returns was $1,362,347.87; this is a 9.82% increase over the July 2012 returns; total collections year to date are 7.91% higher than the comparable time frame in Fiscal Year 2011- 2012.”
Another Red Flag – how will it improve on 8 percent increase?
Why’s broken with tourism? That is the question that I asked Ellington at the August meeting of the chamber board. He dodged the question, refusing to provide any facts.
Moving tourism out of the Greater Pensacola Chamber makes sense, but it needs to move into the Sunshine. The public needs to weigh in on the structure of the independent authority and the transition process.
Another Red Flag – Must operate in the Sunshine.