PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) made $1.9 million more than they bargained for last year.
And, as board members pointed out at a meeting Tuesday, it’s better to have too much than not enough.
The board also made good on an ongoing commitment to set aside funds for major capital projects in the future as they discussed ways to expend the funds.
“I think every year, out of this excess, we’ve kind of thought, ‘Let’s carve something else and keep building this fund,’ ” said board member Mike Bennett.
The additional revenue comes from tourist development tax collections identified in a recent audit. The actual revenue numbers were $1.9 million more than the TDC budgeted last fall, pushing the revenue budget to nearly $50.5 million.
The bed tax is a 5 percent county-levied tax on short-term accommodations within the special taxing district of Panama City Beach. Per Florida statute, money collected through the bed tax must go toward promoting the area as a tourist destination.
The board already committed $350,000 of the excess collections to help fund this year’s Gulf Coast Jam. TDC Director Dan Rowe presented a plan for the remaining $1.6 million but was met with a request from the board to reduce its scope to allow at least $600,000 to be placed in reserves.
Rowe’s proposal included a number of additional expenditures, including $650,000 to beef up the agency’s broadcast advertising budget, $125,000 to boost international sales efforts, an additional $200,000 for sports marketing, and funding for two additional fall events and improvements to Aaron Bessant Park.
Board member Andy Phillips echoed Bennett’s comment the agency should always set money aside to prepare for future demand, especially regarding the beach’s sports facilities.
“We’re fairly maxed out in terms of our expansion capabilities in bringing in more teams and more events,” Phillips said of Frank Brown Park. “We’ve had discussions over the last couple of years about expanding the facilities — whether it’s a field house or additional fields.”
One of Rowe’s suggestions, however, received good feedback from the board — a $75,000 expenditure to develop a multimedia presentation highlighting the importance of the tourism industry in Bay County.
“I think we do a poor job on this beach, and as the TDC and the county, in letting people know just how important tourism is,” said board member Mike Thomas. “Everybody in town reaps the benefit for us hearing all the noise at night.”
Rowe said he and his team will rework the plan for the remaining $1 million and bring it back for the board’s consideration at a later date.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the TDC also reported a 16 percent decrease in December bed tax collections from December 2012. Rowe said he believed high collections numbers last December created an anomaly.
“Last year bed taxes were up 25.7 percent above the previous year in December,” Rowe said. “This year, it was on par if you were to look at 2011. We were up just about 7 percent over 2011.”