Byrd questions tourism funding during Groove and Glow discussion
On Tuesday, Byrd also questioned why the tourism commission did not spend more of its previous budget.
GLASGOW, Ky. — A routine discussion about upcoming community events turned into a debate over tourism funding during Tuesday’s meeting of the board that oversees the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist and Convention Commission.
Board member Matthew Compton, who is associated with Entertain Glasgow, was giving the board an overview of upcoming events, including the annual Groove and Glow celebration set for Sept. 29 at the Glasgow Municipal Airport.
Entertain Glasgow is a nonprofit that hosts community events, including summer concerts and Groove and Glow.
“You know, the way things are now, you’ve got to take any avenue you can get to try and get some sponsorship and funding money,” Compton said.
Compton said Entertain Glasgow had a surplus of money during what he described as the organization’s “heyday” in the years following the pandemic, but conditions have since changed.
“Businesses don’t have that surplus of money there and a lot of the businesses just are not giving now,” Compton said.
Compton estimated this year’s Groove and Glow will cost close to $50,000.
That prompted Barren County Judge/Executive Jamie Byrd, who attended the meeting but does not serve on the tourism board, to ask whether the tourism commission had contributed to the event.
“How much did tourism give toward it?” Byrd asked.
“We didn’t get an application to sponsor that,” said MacLean Lessenberry, executive director of the joint tourism agency.
“Why didn’t you apply?” Byrd asked Compton.
The tourism commission accepts applications from organizations seeking support for tourism-related events that draw visitors to the community.
Compton said Entertain Glasgow did not know what its budget needs would be until July. He said the application process generally takes about 90 days, which would have made it difficult to receive funding before Groove and Glow.
Compton said Entertain Glasgow raised about $30,000 in sponsorships this year, while the City of Glasgow also contributed money.
A question of what tourism money can pay for
Byrd said she understood that local businesses are frequently asked to support community events. She questioned why tourism dollars could not be used to support an event such as Groove and Glow.
“I’m saying this genuinely: Why can’t that be part of the budget?” Byrd said.
Lessenberry said the tourism commission has an application process for organizations seeking sponsorships.
Although the commission is not financially sponsoring Groove and Glow, Lessenberry said the agency will help with marketing and volunteer efforts.
“You’re not really spending money on that event other than just a social media post, right?” Byrd said.
Board member Tim Gooden said marketing was what the tourism commission could provide because its funding comes from transient room taxes. He said the commission’s authority is governed by state law.
“We can’t give him money for anything other than that,” Gooden said.
The commission is established under KRS 91A.350 and the law says its purpose is to promote convention and tourist activities and facilities.
The law also allows the commission to make contracts for promotional services, advertising services and other services and materials related to the promotion of tourist and convention business.
Byrd argued that the law’s language about promoting tourism does not require the commission to limit its support to marketing.
Byrd said other communities use tourism dollars to support events in other ways, although she did not identify those communities.
Lessenberry and Compton said those communities may be using restaurant tax revenue, which has different spending rules.
“Restaurant tax money is spent entirely different than transient tax money,” Compton said.
Byrd argued that the law “suggests” transient room tax money should be used for the marketing and promotion of tourism events, rather than “requiring” that it be used only for those purposes.
“We want to go with the suggested,” Lessenberry said. “It’s not the purpose of the funds it’s for.”
The exchange did not result in a decision to provide funding to Groove and Glow.
The larger tourism debate
The discussion comes as Byrd and tourism leaders have disagreed in recent months over her proposal to separate Barren County from the joint city-county tourism commission and create a stand-alone county commission.
Byrd has said the change would allow the city and county to continue working together while giving the county the ability to collect its own transient room tax.
The joint tourism commission has opposed the proposal, saying it could hurt its existing operations and relationships with community partners.
On Tuesday, Byrd also questioned why the tourism commission did not spend more of its previous budget. She pointed to a $330,000 budget in which about $270,000 was spent.
“There was a cushion that you could have spent. You only spent $2,500 in events. You could have spent more money to go to those events.”
Brennan Crain
Tourism commission Chairman Byron Sorrell eventually stopped the discussion, saying the meeting was not scheduled to address the tourism budget or Entertain Glasgow specifically.
“We’re getting away from the agenda,” Sorrell said. “When it comes to budgets, we’ve got a budget set in place right now. I’m not gonna bring topics that are not on the agenda.”
The bottom line
Entertain Glasgow expects this year’s Groove and Glow to cost about $50,000 and raised about $30,000 in sponsorships, according to Compton.
The tourism commission is not providing direct financial support for the event, but Lessenberry said it will help with marketing and volunteers.
The disagreement centers on how tourism funding can be used. Tourism leaders pointed to the commission’s authority under state law and its role in promoting tourism, while Byrd questioned whether that prevents the commission from providing direct financial support to a tourism event.
