[May 23, 2012] City notes compliance of all HOT contractors Tweet May 23, 2012 (Kilgore News Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- After a two-week delay due to tax season, the City of Kilgore has all four quarterly reports from the various organizations that receive portions of Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues. The tourism tax -- collected through an additional seven percent charge on local rented rooms -- has already netted $207,381 in Fiscal Year 2012, October through April, almost 73 percent of the anticipated haul. "We're seven months into it," Kilgore Finance Director Lawanna Williams explained, and ahead of schedule. "We should be at 58 percent if everything comes in flatline." Revenues from the eight hotels and motels operating in the city limit typically exceed the city's budgeted amount -- $342,780.72 compared to an anticipated $275,000 in FY2011 -- and Williams expects an even larger return during the last five months of the city's budget year. "Usually your summer months are a little bit bigger than your winter months." The organizations' most recent quarterly reports, itemizing approved tourism-related expenses according to contractual agreements with the city, cover January through March. In addition to documents from the Kilgore Main Street Program, Texas Shakespeare Festival and Kilgore Historical Preservation Foundation, the stack includes a list of expenditures from the Kilgore Chamber of Commerce -- reporting there had lapsed according to the city's requirements. "I think it was more of a misunderstanding in how the reports were presented in the past," chamber president Mike Coston said. "We always provided the reports, but there was a change in the way that they wanted the reports to look like. "Our challenge over the last couple of months was being able to communicate -- both parties to communicate -- well enough to provide exactly a format that they felt comfortable with." According to Coston, in various meetings including City Manager Scott Sellers, chamber chairman Alvin Khoury, city council member Harvey McClendon, Mayor Ronnie Spradlin, Williams and chamber staff, the group went through several different reporting formats before reaching a consensus. "It just took us a while to get on the same page -- it was just a lack of communication between the two entities (city and chamber) on what they wanted and what we were giving them." As opposed to the chamber's previous reports -- unitemized, grouping possible expenditures into broad categories with supporting documentation -- the latest document was turned into the city on time, Williams said, correctly, a complete 180-degree turn after long delays and unsatisfactory summaries. The numbers add up and fulfill the organization's contractual reporting requirements, she noted. "I'm ecstatic that they finally put it in a format that is actually tied to their books, that is tied to the checks that they write," Williams said. "I feel like we have something that they can balance to, and we can see where they got their numbers." Sellers echoed the positive change. "The chamber's summary report of hotel occupancy tax expenditures correllates the supporting documents submitted to the city this month, including an itemization of all expenses," he said. During budget discussions this summer, the Kilgore City Council will be open to requests from the four organizations (and others that step forward) for allocation in Fiscal Year 2013. The state levies its own six percent tax on rented rooms and defines the ways the monies raised locally can be allocated and spent. In Kilgore, benefitting organizations approved by the city council are tasked with putting 'heads in beds' back at the inns by funding programs that advance the arts, supporting historical restoration or preservation, covering administrative expenses and certain operational costs, establishing and maintaining a convention or events center or promoting tourism through marketing and advertising. In the second quarter, the hotels turned over $69,053.56 in collections followed by $39,897 in April. The chamber, allocated a maximum of 68.42 percent of all budgeted collections in FY2012 ($285,000) drew $74,544.57 during those four months; KHPF and TSF each received total disbursements of $13,379.24 (allocated 12.28 percent each, up to $35,000 during the year) and Main Street, budgeted 20 percent this year (up to $20,000), netted $7,648.39. During the same period, at the request of Kilgore College President Bill Holda, the city council also made a one-time allocation of $25,000 to the East Texas Oil Museum plus $15,000 to Rangerette Revels. The college submitted its second quarter report on TSF in April along with a voluntary report on the Rangerettes' HOT expenses. According to Leah Gorman, KC director of development, TSF utilized $23,327.39 during the quarter, dividing it between auditions ($3,141.73), production ($1,306.76), an acting workshop ($285), contracted services ($18,550) and miscellaneous expenditures of $43.90. In addition to an itemized breakdown of the various expenses, the college also included associated receipts. Expenses for Revels funded some of the production's costumes, recording, set decorations and other expenditures, utilizing all $15,000 of the allocation. The East Texas Oil Museum has not yet expended its $25,000 while further-developing a plan for a digital docent program at the facility. In the first quarter, the chamber used its HOT money for administrative expenses, utilities, rent, office supplies, tourism and promotional expenses. The Chamber of Commerce covered a portion of its salaries, in addition to contract labor (chamber ambassadors staff the building's front office on Saturday mornings), at $21,633.53. Funding a portion of its office phones, cell phones, power, cable TV and Internet service cost $2,016.77 in addition to $420 of total rent and $1,945.12 for supplies and equipment. After administrative costs, the largest portion of the chamber's HOT expenditures covered tourism expenses, $8,397.59 for conventions and seminars, bills related to winter events, tourism development and travel shows. Factoring in a carryover balance of $67,826.66 and reporting expenses of $40,402.84 against disbursements from the city, accrued interest on unused HOT funds and reimbursements, the chamber closed the period with $75,006.87 in unused HOT money. According to the city's records, Main Street's HOT money funded parts of various expenses totalling $13,287.83 (supplemented by the program's annual budget) paying off Christmas lighting installation from winter 2011, advertising and Fridays After 5 concert expenses. Accounting for $72.48 in accrued interest on its carried-over HOT money of $57,984.48, in the second quarter KHPF principally used its HOT revenues to fund repairs and supplies for the memorial derricks in addition to utility bills to keep them lit, closing the period with a balance of $48,295.82. Return to top ___ (c)2012 the Kilgore News Herald (Kilgore, Texas) Visit the Kilgore News Herald (Kilgore, Texas) at www.kilgorenewsherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]