By HOLLY GASKILL
Members of the Wells County Convention and Visitors Commission met for the first time Thursday morning.
The nine-member board will handle the use of funds collected through the innkeeper tax, which took effect Feb. 1. The 5 percent tax is collected from any lodging under 30 days, including hotels, cabins and bed and breakfasts.
In its first month, the innkeeper tax collected $5,997.04. Of this amount, $5,620.04 was collected through two local hotels and $377 through Airbnb rentals.
Audry Dudley, economic development project assistant and tourism coordinator, noted how impressive this collection has been given the short month in an off-season time. According to Executive Director of Economic Development Chad Kline, studies projected the county collecting around $80,000 per year through the tax.
That said, Dudley said they’re still working to figure out some of the issues with the collection. Currently, any business classified as a motel or hotel needs to file every month, regardless of whether or not they’ve had applicable sales.
Duley said she had worked with Treasurer Kathy Peeper to remind business owners and would follow up in person after the next collection. Collections for March were due on April 20, the day of the commission’s meeting.
Ultimately, these funds will be used toward the development of tourism efforts and marketing, and notably, supporting Dudley’s compensation.
In light of this, Kline presented examples of service agreement contracts similar to what to commission will operate under. Although some communities create separate not-for-profit organizations to handle the innkeeper tax funds, Kline recommended Economic Development house the funds.
“What we have discussed over the process of getting to where we are is, rather than starting a whole new organization, that we will essentially house the activities under the Chamber and Economic Development because we feel that the activities, the connections with local business, the focus on population attraction, and retention, all fall within the realm of our office,” Kline said.
Along those lines, the commission approved Dudley to make routine purchases as needed between meetings. She will be accountable to the board to present these expenditures monthly.
A service agreement including these terms will be presented to the commission at their next meeting, 8 a.m. on May 12. The commission will also begin discussing their practical goals and plans for success in their role.
The commission includes members appointed by the County Council, commissioners, Mayor John Whicker, and the town of Ossian, each bringing experience in fields related to tourism, business and community organization. The current members are Michelle Blount, Scott Elzey, Brandy Fiechter, Gary Guenin, Zane Herr, Steve Higgins, Justin Osborn, Jeff Reed and Jon Winne.
Among the commission, Scott Elzey was selected as president, Steve Higgins as vice president and Jon Winne as secretary for the remainder of the year. Gary Guenin, Zane Herr and Justin Osborn were not present.
Looking forward, Dudley also plans to join the Indiana Tourism Association to connect to more resources across the state. Additionally, she will distribute copies of the most recent edition of the local tourism guide, which was released earlier this week.
holly@news-banner.com
