City Councilwoman Donna Frye e-mailed after I posted my column last night.
She indicated she was surprised by the Mayor’s Office and its apparent contention that the new tourism marketing district will pay for all of the tourism promotion the city spends money on now.
I didn’t fit it in but this was mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz’s quote to me yesterday:
“All tourism marketing efforts will be removed from the budget and paid for by the TMD,” Sainz said.
But Frye’s worried that city law doesn’t reflect that. The city’s municipal code still says that 4 cents of the now 12.5 cent hotel room tax must go to tourism promotion.
That would mean the hoteliers not only have their nice new kitty to spend on generating good vibes but that the city has to keep kicking in as well.
I’ll keep following it.