Port Authority & Visitors’ Bureau…..joined by a Coastal Manager & the ORC

We have been trying to understand the finances of the Lake County Ohio Port & Economic Development Authority and the Lake County Visitors Bureau. The Visitors Bureau is a Non-Profit 501(c)6, and the Port Authority is a governmental body and a product of the Ohio Revised Code. Although they are supposed to be independent autonomous entities, they are very closely monitored and controlled by the Lake County Commissioners, and in our opinion falls under our golden rule philosophy (He who has the gold makes the rules).

There is a particular circumstance that bothers us a bit since we believe the Commissioners are “working around” the Ohio Revised Code relative to the allocation of Lodging Taxes. It is a bit confusing, but let us try to simplify it.

1. The ORC allows an eligible county to collect a 3% lodging tax. Lake County is an eligible county and Lake County has levied a 3% lodging tax.
2. The ORC requires the county to return about 2% of the tax proceeds back to communities within Lake County that have hotels within their boundaries.
3. The remaining 1% of the lodging tax proceeds are to be held in a separate fund, which is being called the Tourism Reserve Fund, by the county to be used solely for convention center or Visitors Bureau expenses.
4. In 2015, the 131st General Assembly proposed modification of a whole lot of sections of the ORC in H.B. 64, a budget bill (LFC Note: Since 2009, it appears that every instance of levying and raising lodging taxes by revision of those sections of the ORC has been accomplished by way of budget and appropriations bills).

5. One of the proposed modifications was an increase in lodging taxes of 2% to be used for the sole purpose of financing lakeshore improvement projects constructed or financed by the Port Authority. This section of code clearly states that none of the proceeds from this brand new 2% lodging tax is to be used for Port Authority operating expenses.

ORC Section 5739.09, Administration and Allocation of Lodging Tax, is the section of code that governs the allocation of the lodging tax (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5739.09v1). This explanation found at the Ohio.gov website is a bit easier to understand https://www.tax.ohio.gov/tax_analysis/tax_data_series/sales_and_use/s4/s4cy03.aspx.

As stated above, based on our reading of the ORC, at no time shall lodging tax funds be used to pay for operating expenses of a port authority, unless said port authority is operating a military-use facility. A port authority may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in connection with a coastal improvement project via cooperative agreement under ORC Section 307.678 Tourism Development Facility or Project Cooperative Agreements.

Here’s where things get a bit, as they say, “dicey.”

The Director of Coastal Development, is a port authority employee reporting directly to Mark Rantala, Executive Director of the Port Authority. As a Port Authority employee, the Director of Coastal Development receives all the benefits of a Lake County government employee, including OPERS. However, the Port Authority does not have enough revenue to fund this position. Here is where the Commissioners get a bit creative and a “wink and a nod” to the ORC.

The Commissioners use the revenue in the Tourism Reserve Fund (the 1% lodging tax fund referenced above), which is to be used solely for Visitors Bureau expenses according to the ORC, to fund the salary and benefits for the Director of Coastal Development, a Port Authority employee. Technically, the Commissioners are following the ORC, i.e. they do not write the check directly to the Port Authority. Here’s how it works:

  1. The Port Authority Director, Mark Rantala, sends a letter to the Visitors Bureau asking for their support (Port Authority letter to Visitors Bureau).
  2. The Visitors Bureau dutifully drafts a letter to the Lake County Administrator, Jason Boyd, requesting allocation from the 1% Tourism Reserve Fund to cover the salary and benefits of the Director of Coastal Development (Visitors Bureau letter to County Admin).
  3. Boyd processes the request, sends the check to the Visitors Bureau which, in turn, writes a check to the Port Authority for the same amount. And “Bada Bing Bada Boom…Bob’s your rich uncle,” everyone has covered their bases, and compliance with the Ohio Revised Code relative to allocation of the 1% lodging tax funds has been met.

Based on the records that have been produced, this practice has been going on since the Director of Coastal Development position was created. Is that really how we want our local government to work? Is it right that the Visitors Bureau is funding a County employee who receives a much better salary and benefits package than the Visitors Bureau employees?

Lake County does have a Coastal Development Plan (http://lcport.org/coastal-development-plans). One could argue that the Lake County Coastal Development Plan qualifies as an ongoing project, right? Not so fast. It is so very important to read the definitions in each section of the ORC, because by golly the definition of a word in one section of the code does not necessarily mean that the same definition will be applied to the same word in another section of code.

After careful review of ORC Section 307.678 Tourism Development Facility or Project Cooperative Agreements (referenced above), the definition of the word “Project” means acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, rehabilitating, remodeling, renovating, enlarging, equipping, furnishing, or otherwise improving a tourism facility or any component or element thereof. Could the salary and benefits of the Director of Coastal Development, a Port Authority operating expense, be considered a component or element of a tourism facility?

We humbly offer the following suggestions to the Commissioners:

  1. Work with State representatives to change the ORC to allow the Port Authority to use funds from the newly levied 2% lodging tax to be used for coastal development projects to include funding of the salary and benefits of the Director of Coastal Development (We know that it is a long and tedious process, voters may become involved because some of these modifications of the ORC are subject to referendum, frankly this suggestion may not be possible given the specificity with which the lawmakers spelled out that funds from this 2% could not be used for port authority operating expenses when they levied the tax, and other sections of the ORC may prohibit this suggestion…but maybe just give it a whirl).
  2. Make the Director of Coastal Development a Visitors Bureau position reporting to the Executive Director of the Visitors Bureau…problem solved and the transaction is squeaky clean (Problem there is that the salary may be required to be reduced due to the fact that the Visitors Bureau is a non-profit. Additionally those nice government bennies go away).
  3. The Commissioners can pick up the slack and fund the Director of Coastal Development position out of the general fund or another fund, but the budget gets tighter every year (The Commissioners are already funding a large portion of the Port Authority and Lost Nation airport budgets as it is, the Port Authority is miles away from being self-sustaining; and we understand that The Better Flip project is not going as well as planned…stay tuned for that story).
  4. Insist that the Port Authority find enough revenue in their current budget to fund the salary and benefits of the Director of Coastal Development (We have some ideas about how this might be accomplished in short order if the Commissioners are interested).

With a special thanks to an ever helpful and transparent Jason Boyd, Lake County Administrator, and Michael Matas, Lake County Finance Direcctor, here is a summary of all expenditures from the 1% Tourism Reserve Fund for the periods 2014 – 2018.     bed tax 1% fund expenditures 2014 – 2018



Categories: Lake

Tags:

49 replies

  1. 30603 98168But yet another intelligent weblog! Completely cannot wait for a good deal far more! 528974

  2. Has anyone vaped Bomb Sauce E-Liquid SALT Vape Juice?

  3. Has anyone shopped at The Vape Spot Vape Store in 1450 W Lake Street?

  4. One thing is that if you are searching for a student loan you may find that you’ll want a cosigner. There are many circumstances where this is true because you could find that you do not possess a past credit ranking so the mortgage lender will require that you’ve got someone cosign the financial loan for you. Good post.

  5. Greetings! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  6. Hiya! Quick question that’s entirely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My blog looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share. Cheers!

  7. I believe one of your advertisements caused my internet browser to resize, you might want to put that on your blacklist.

  8. Howdy would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you recommend a good internet hosting provider at a honest price? Kudos, I appreciate it!

  9. 874883 620782Watch the strategies presented continue reading to discover and just listen how to carry out this incredible like you organize your company at the moment. educational 107655

  10. Today, considering the fast life-style that everyone is having, credit cards get this amazing demand throughout the economy. Persons out of every arena are using credit card and people who not using the credit cards have arranged to apply for one in particular. Thanks for spreading your ideas about credit cards.

  11. Your style is unique compared to other folks I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this site.

  12. Everything is very open with a really clear explanation of the issues. It was truly informative. Your website is very helpful. Many thanks for sharing!

  13. Has anyone shopped at The Vape Shop Vapor Store in 880 E Turkeyfoot Lake Rd?

  14. Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any tips?

  15. Everything is very open with a really clear description of the challenges. It was truly informative. Your website is very useful. Thank you for sharing!

  16. Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web site is so cool. I am impressed by the details that you抳e on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched everywhere and just could not come across. What a perfect site.

  17. I appreciate, cause I found just what I was looking for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye

  18. F*ckin?amazing issues here. I抦 very satisfied to peer your article. Thank you so much and i’m looking ahead to touch you. Will you please drop me a mail?

  19. bookmarked!!, I love your blog!

  20. 567839 108162This web page is known as a stroll-by for all the data you wished about this and didnt know who to ask. Glimpse right here, and youll positively discover it. 704626

  21. Thanks – Enjoyed this blog post, can I set it up so I get an email sent to me when you publish a fresh update?

  22. Howdy! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting tired of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be great if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.

  23. Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my apple ipad and tested to see if it can survive a thirty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!

  24. I and my pals were actually looking at the nice solutions from your site and so quickly developed a terrible suspicion I never thanked the web site owner for those tips. These young men happened to be for that reason joyful to study them and now have unquestionably been having fun with these things. Appreciate your really being considerably accommodating and for going for some quality things millions of individuals are really desirous to learn about. Our own sincere regret for not saying thanks to earlier.

  25. An outstanding share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a coworker who had been conducting a little research on this. And he actually ordered me dinner because I discovered it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this topic here on your web page.

  26. I was very pleased to find this site. I wanted to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely loved every bit of it and I have you saved as a favorite to see new stuff in your site.

  27. Yet another thing I would like to state is that as opposed to trying to accommodate all your online degree courses on days that you end work (since most people are tired when they get back), try to arrange most of your lessons on the saturdays and sundays and only a couple of courses on weekdays, even if it means taking some time off your saturday and sunday. This is really good because on the week-ends, you will be far more rested as well as concentrated upon school work. Thanks a bunch for the different guidelines I have mastered from your website.

  28. Excellent post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!
    Very useful info specially the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot.

    I was seeking this certain information for a long time.

    Thank you and best of luck.

  29. Good information. Lucky me I found your blog by
    chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!

  30. 844347 678595Soon after study a handful of the content material within your internet site now, and that i genuinely such as your method of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark internet site list and are checking back soon. Pls appear into my internet site as effectively and tell me what you believe. 134879

  31. 778905 791555I notice there is definitely lots of spam on this blog. Do you need support cleaning them up? I might assist between courses! 639064

  32. Today’s lineSo I will combine the door and the door.

  33. 841362 55076I like the valuable data you supply inside your articles. Ill bookmark your weblog and check again here regularly. Im quite certain Ill learn a lot of new stuff proper here! Very best of luck for the next! 940523

  34. 19246 941913As soon as I detected this internet internet site I went on reddit to share some of the really like with them. 396608

  35. 192727 986307Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So good to locate somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is something that is necessary on the internet, someone with slightly originality. beneficial job for bringing something new towards the internet! 376265

  36. 367791 715395I dugg some of you post as I cogitated they were really beneficial invaluable 188230

  37. 488792 844114Hi there. Quite cool website!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Great .. I will bookmark your site and take the feeds additionallyI am glad to locate so considerably useful information correct here inside the article. Thanks for sharing 522091

Trackbacks

  1. Flipping and Flopping with Taxpayers’ money – Lobbyists for Citizens
  2. Better Flip…..”gird your loins, they are coming back for more” – Lobbyists for Citizens
  3. Ohio Open Meeting Act….part 2…revealing part of the swamp – Lobbyists for Citizens
  4. South By Southwest Conference…another waste of taxpayer $ – Lobbyists for Citizens
  5. Lake County Visitors Bureau and the Commissioners…Let’s Make a Deal – Lobbyists for Citizens
  6. Lake County Visitors Bureau…The Good, the Bad, and the VERY “Remarkable” Ugly – Lobbyists for Citizens
  7. Lake County Visitors Bureau…sign our petition to defund. – Lobbyists for Citizens

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Lobbyists for Citizens

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading