Henry Showalter said it. Now the Roanoke Times wrote about it. The county's chamber of commerce has been divorced from tourism development efforts.
Does this mean lodgers will no longer be members of the chamber, and instead transfer to a new 501(c)3 which appears to have been awarded custody of the Tourism Development Council (TDC)? Does this mean restaurants will do likewise? Remember the extra meals and lodging taxes represent huge chunks of revenue for both the towns, which collect 6% and 7% respectively (on top of the 5% state sales taxes).
After funneling over $800,000 in taxes to support the TDC since 2005, it is now reported this entity has only $525 in the bank with $6000 accounts payable. If these debts were obligated before the funding was yanked away who is obligated to pay them now?
What do lodging or restaurant operators have to show in exchange for collecting these extra taxes?
Why were some members of the media aware of what appears to be a two hour meeting between chamber representatives, the TDC, and other government representatives?
Members of the TDC include Lynn Laidlaw, Mike Soriano, Jason Dowdy and Joyce Beliveau. Government liaisons include Councilman Showalter (Christiansburg), Supervisor Jim Politis (Montgomery County) and Councilman Don Langrehr (Blacksburg).
Who is negotiating what in a closed session? The chamber? The funding sources? How can taxes be given away or used without following public procurement law, having a contract or before requests for bids to provide marketing services?
Remember three separate legal contracts between the chamber and each locality provided money to create and grow tourism, to reduce pressure on raising other taxes and fees. The TDC was formed to handle this, as part of the chamber, with separate accounts.
Did each government body vote to empower their respective liaisons the authority to negotiate? Nope, won't find this on those agendas or in public minutes.
Christiansburg's rep says a lot when he is quoted as saying his town "wants to continue funding tourism." Sure they do! They have no existing marketing plans or partnerships of their own in place, as contrasted with Blacksburg. The word "regional" seems to be missing, too, and implies Christiansburg still wants to make contributions only if they can specify how these funds are used. For Christiansburg.
A companion article, also written by the newspaper's former Roanoke business writer, cites an ongoing investigation but fails to report what the "red flag" was, or who raised it. The news story talks about issues with the chamber's internal accounting policies without addressing if there were known problems in past external audits, bookkeeping or tax filings.
Who made the purchases and who signed the checks? Who audited the books and prepared the taxes? What came from chamber accounts and how tourism funds were spent should be clear by now and distinctly different (even though there had been some economies of scale).
Regardless of which 501(c)3 wins custody, there is no doubt the TDC and these tax monies are being fought over like a wealthy orphan with a "trust" fund.
It's too bad John Carlin (who initially seemed to be brought in for damage control) wasn't able to put a better spin on this mess. It sounds as if a mediator is desparately needed. It will take something extraordinary to rebuild trust and a true tourism development initiative in Montgomery County.