More Business Development Cash, Less for Tourism
WWL Reporter Don Ames Reporting: (Posted Monday, March 12, 2012)
St. Tammany's president is looking to shift more tax proceeds from the hotel/motel tax collected in the parish into economic development. Senate Bill #313, before the current state legislature, would mean a smaller budget allocated to tourism efforts in St. Tammany. The tourism budget in the parish is currently about 2 million dollars. "Our budget for economic development in the parish has been less than $400,000. We have been woefully under-funded," says Parish President Pat Brister. Brister says increasing the economic development percentage of the hotel/motel tax from 15 to 45 percent will double the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation's budget. "With this change, we would get it up to about $800,000 from that tax." Each year, the state remits a portion of the hotel/motel tax collected in the parish back to the parish. These funds have been invested in tourism, facilities, and economic development. The tourism commission currently receives 85 percent of that money, which supports about half of its budget. The economic development foundation receives the other 15 percent. "When that was written in 1995, that certainly may have made sense. But, in today's market, we have to have more funding for economic development," Brister says. And, she says increasing the economic development budget will help tourism in the long run. "We certainly intend to use that money to bring more businesses in. And, when more businesses come in, more business people stay in hotels." "The U.S. Travel Association reports that $2.3 billion was spent on business travel in 2010," says Brister. "We want more of those travelers in St. Tammany Parish." She says the Tourist and Convention Commission budget would be cut by about $500,000, but would still be about $1.5 million. "While this will mean a smaller budget for tourism at this time, it will be sufficient for them to continue their excellent work. This is also a partnership that makes sense and will increase everyone's resources over time." "We really have been working hard with the tourist commission to try to come up with a plan that works for both of us and to let them know that we absolutely want to work as a partner. And we feel this is a win-win for both of us," she says. Brister's task force on economic development proposed the change.

Additional Links:

• Home
• Contact Us
• Transition