The golden goose wants its due.
At a Manatee County Tourist Development Council meeting Aug. 15 at the Center of Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, Anna Maria Commissioner Carol Carter and Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore — a Holmes Beach native filling in for County Commissioner Misty Servia as chair — pushed for a motion to recommend the county begin a process to change how tourist tax dollars can be spent under state law.
The TDC advises county commissioners on spending the tourist tax, or “bed tax,” and the trio said island municipalities should see more of the money.
The “bed” tax, also known as the resort tax, is a 5% levy on overnight rentals of six months or less that garnered $2,838,519 in revenue for the county in June.
Compared to the county’s 2018-19 fiscal year, the region has garnered about 76% more bed tax revenue in 2022 on the back of a pandemic-era “endless season” tourist boom that began in late 2020.
Chappie kicked off public comment by describing a crowded island with strained infrastructure and personnel.
Decades ago, “when the lots were platted, they had 3-6 people on those lots. And what’s happened in the last decade … we’re cramming anywhere from 12-22 people on these lots,” Chappie said.
“Our infrastructure is suffering … our public safety, our lifeguards, we need to be able to spend tax dollars on these facilities and on our infrastructure and for our law enforcement out here,” he said.
According to state law, bed tax revenue must be spent on tourism-bolstering initiatives. Examples include funding the 2019-20 construction of the Anna Maria City Pier and $1 million to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016 toward the purchase of a new scoreboard at Bradenton’s LECOM Park.
Chappie urged the TDC to influence county commissioners to pressure state legislators to change the law to allow bed tax dollars to be spent on municipal needs not directly tied to tourism.
“We can’t go on the way it is right now,” he said. “We need other sources of funding for these important needs that our communities have.”
Carter echoed Chappie’s sentiments and Whitmore said the island municipalities draw the lion’s share of bed tax revenue.
“As an islander out here, I feel the pain. I understand 100%,” Whitmore said. “What bothers me is the three cities out here contribute the highest amount of tourist tax that the county receives. Holmes Beach is the second highest.”
In June, Holmes Beach earned $890,927 or 31% of the county’s bed tax revenue, while unincorporated Manatee County drew $954,493 or 34%.
In April, Holmes Beach was the top earner, gleaning $1,170,028 or 37% of overall revenue.
“I hope that you all bring this up to your respective governments because (the island cities) are feeling the pain,” Whitmore said. “They generate the largest part of the revenue and they don’t get the benefits from it.”
Following the commentary, Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Elliott Falcione said the TDC could make a motion to advise county commissioners to add changes to bed tax statutes to the commission’s legislative priority list, a document commissioners review with local state legislators before annual legislative sessions in Tallahassee.
However, when Whitmore asked if any TDC members would make the motion none responded.
Falcione said the motion could be made at an October meeting or the issue could be addressed at a December workshop.
A slight dip
June tourism metrics were down compared to the same month in 2021 due to shifting visitor demographics, consultant Anne Wittine said at the meeting.
Visitation to Manatee County was down 8.1% and room nights down 3.7% from 2021 levels but Wittine, a director of quantitative research at Research Data Services, said the trend reflects a normalization of tourism patterns as fewer Florida residents have opted to vacation in-state this year.
The county saw a 19.8% year-over-year drop in visitation from Florida tourists in June.
However, Wittine said, it appears the tourism gains the county made during the pandemic have been cemented as June visitation was up 25.8% from the same month in 2019, room nights up 24.9% and economic impact up 38.4%.
In terms of visitor origins compared to 2019 — the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau’s pre-pandemic benchmark year — the county drew 126.4% more people from Florida in June.
In the same month, and for the first time in 15 months, Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport experienced its first year-over-year contraction in passenger volume.
Pilot shortages and subsequent flight cancellations as well as the high cost of airfare and fuel, inflation and recession fears contributed to the dip in passengers, airport senior vice president and chief operating officer Mark Stuckey said at the meeting.
Falcione predicted a shift in visitation demographics to the area next summer.
The executive director said more Americans will vacation in Europe, while a proportionate number of Europeans will visit the states, maintaining the tourism status quo.
Know your TDCs
Members of the TDC include County Commissioner Misty Servia, chairman, Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant, Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown, Ed Chiles, Eric Cairns, Jiten Patel, Rahul Patel, Dave Wick and Norma Kennedy.
Wick and Kennedy, “interested citizen” members of the council, were appointed by county commissioners Aug. 9 to succeed Vernon DeSear and Jack Rynerson, whose terms expired June 30.
DeSear and Rynerson reapplied for their seats but DeSear failed to garner more than three votes for reappointment and Rynerson did not receive a nomination from commissioners.
Wick is a 40-year county resident and 16-year foundation chairman of the Powel Crowsley Estate, while Kennedy is a county native and 10-year vice president of the Parrish Civic Association.
The next TDC meeting will be 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at the Manatee County Administrative Building in Bradenton.
— Kane Kaiman