06/06/2023 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final June 6, 2023 County Attorney Dylan Reingold explained, per Florida Statute 125.0104, the uses of the fifth cent and how the penny could be utilized for beach restoration. However, a rework of the tourist tax allocations would be required to make use of this penny for that purpose and detailed the process. Commissioner Moss explained why she was not prepared to support increasing the tourist tax until she had a clearer understanding of the funding sources for the beach restoration projects and the current funding situation. In response, Chairman Earman pointed out that the additional $.01 cent was not just for beach restoration but also to promote tourism to bring people to the County to enjoy the beaches. Additional discussion ensued between the Board and staff on the additional funding, the promotion of tourism by making the County's beaches tourism friendly, and how an additional quarter (1/4) of a penny could go to beach restoration. A discussion followed in regard to Commissioner Moss's concerns and the regulations on what each of the cents could be used toward. Chairman Adams received confirmation from Ms. Daniels that the additional .01 cents would increase the .067 tourism promotion to a full $.02 cents and referred to the Tourism Tax Revenue Matrix and explained that the first, second, and third pennies could be used for anything. She continued to explain that the fourth penny, which was technically the County's fifth penny but was referred to as the sixth penny due to statutory limitations. The County was unable to levy the fifth penny as it was not considered a high -impact tourism County. Ms. Daniels pointed out that if the County adopted the sixth cent, the County would reallocate the funding for all of the pennies because the code was very specific on which items each penny could fund. She noted that the County's code would need to be changed, as well as the Outside Agency funding policy, to reflect the differences. A discussion ensued among the Board and staff on the process of adding the sixth cent, the timeline, and a request for staff to bring back additional information on the distribution of pennies. Attorney Reingold stated it was simply a super -majority vote of the Board. Ms. Daniels informed the timeline for the start of the allocation would be the first day of the second month, following the super -majority vote of approval. She stated the ideal date was October 1, 2023, being a new fiscal year, and to allow the Clerk of the Circuit Court time to advertise and contact those folks who levy and collect the tax and to update their software. Vice Chairman Adams felt that if Chairman Earman wanted a vote today on the increase to the Tourist/Bed Tax, he would not get the supermajority. She felt the Board wanted additional information Indian River County Florida Page 19