By Tracy Ouellette
SLN Staff
The East Troy Village Board approved May 16 the naming of the East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce as the village’s tourism entity starting in 2017.
The move comes after a new state laws were put in place that say the majority of room tax income in a municipality has to be used for tourism promotion and tourism.
“It really changed the way room tax dollars were distributed by local government,” East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vanessa Lenz said Tuesday morning. “I think the intent behind it was to make sure the resources are spent on promotion and advertising for the lodging industry.”
Under the new laws, 70 percent of the room tax collect in a municipality has to be used for tourism promotion and development and the other 30 percent can go to the municipality to be used at its discretion.
Lenz had made a presentation to the board at the April 25 committee of the whole meeting, to show how the chamber qualifies as a tourism entity under the new state laws. She also brought an info-graphic to Monday night’s meeting to reiterate the chamber’s qualifications and answer any questions from the board about the new set up.
The board members were in agreement that the chamber qualifies as a tourism entity, but some members were concerned that the new arrangement would take money from the East Troy Electric Railroad and airport, which is receiving a portion of the room tax.
Village Administrator Eileen Suhm explained the because the specific way the room tax dollars have to be spent, the Village Board could not dictate to the chamber they had to give “X-number of dollars” to the railroad or airport.
Lenz pointed out the good relationship the chamber and railroad have, with a shared board member, and the chamber’s promotion of the railroad on their website’s front page and Santa Train. She told the board the chamber is more than willing to work with the railroad to take over the cost of their tourism promotion and do it for them so they won’t be losing resources.
Trustee Ann Zess said there had been some discussion, although not at the board level, about doing things like giving the receipts from the Santa Train tickets to the railroad instead of the chamber keeping the money.
The board included a requirement in the motion to make the chamber the village’s tourism entity that the chamber provide reports on how the money is being spent every six months for the first two years of this new arrangement. The concern was being so new, board members said they wanted to make sure they were following the law.
The chamber has to spend 100 percent of the room tax money it receives on tourism and promotion, but Zess said the big events the chamber already puts on – Bluegrass Festival, Cycling Classic, Corn and Brat Roast – already meet that requirement with what they cost.
The board approved the start of this new arrangement as of Jan. 1, 2017.
