Supervisors To Debate Slashing Visit Tuolumne County’s Funding

Sonora, CA — Visit Tuolumne County, which works to bring tourism to the region, could see a major cut in its funding allocation.

The current contract with Visit Tuolumne County runs through the end of the calendar year. Since 1983, Visit Tuolumne County has received 25 percent of the Transient Occupancy Tax Revenue paid by those who use local lodging, which during the current fiscal year will pay the organization around $1.75-million (the TOT recently went up from 10 percent to 12 percent, and the current contract still uses the 10 percent funding pot). Visit Tuolumne County does not receive a portion of the recent two percent increase, so the funding percentage is now actually closer to 20 percent.

Tuolumne CAO Tracie Riggs is bringing forward a proposal to the Board of Supervisors to change the funding formula to a set amount, and gradually decrease it over the next five years. Moving forward, the county would pay $1.25 million in fiscal year 2023/24, $1-million in 2024/25, $750,000 in 2025/26, $500,000 in 2026/27, and $500,000 again in 2027/28.

A memo from Riggs argues, “The Board of Supervisors is intimately aware of the difficulties in addressing the cost for public safety services. Fire prevention and response has been the number one priority for this Board resulting in the increase of fire stations from two fully staffed county stations to five fully staffed county fire stations. Funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and the SAFER Grant have allowed for these pilot projects to take place. However, it is imperative that staff provide the Board with a financial plan for fiscal sustainability of these pilot fire stations so that they can be permanent fire stations.”

Riggs continues, “The County has placed four revenue measures on the ballot over the last several years, two of which would have provided much-needed funding specifically for fire services. Unfortunately, none were approved. It is clear county residents are telling their county government to live within their means. The only way to do this is to stay vigilant in how discretionary revenues are used and ensure the first priority is public safety.”

Click here to view the full memo that was submitted to the board of supervisors from CAO Riggs. It also raises concerns about issues like needed salary increases for law enforcement officers, and makes comparisons to other counties.

Having received word about the potential cut in funding, many in the tourism industry are rallying in opposition. There are concerns that a reduction in Visit Tuolumne County’s allocation would have a trickle-down effect of less economic development, reduced visitor spending, and a correlating drop in county tax revenue. Teri Marshall, who is with the Evergreen Lodge and Rush Creek, outside of Groveland, has launched a Change.org position against potential funding cuts. It was put up just recently, and over 550 people have signed it, as of this morning.

It makes the argument, “Any limits in VTC’s tourism marketing budget will result in limits to county income, as has been seen time and time again in other markets.”

The petition also states, “VTC’s efforts are on track to continue to grow travel spending in Tuolumne County to well over $250,000,000, saving the average Tuolumne County household nearly $1,000 in taxes annually.”

You can find the full petition by clicking here.

Visit Tuolumne County President and CEO, Lisa Mayo, adds, “Visit Tuolumne County is a revenue generator for Tuolumne County and a long-term sustainable solution for Tuolumne County’s ongoing need for funding for essential services and infrastructure. Tourism Marketing is often misunderstood and oversimplified so we’re hoping to see a good turnout from the public on Tuesday to show everyone how we help meet their needs.”

The board of supervisors is scheduled to discuss Visit Tuolumne County’s contract at 10am on Tuesday during the regular board meeting.