Marshall Democrat-News: Local News: Marshall Tourism Commission gets report on finances (01/28/10)

Marshall Tourism Commission members met Wednesday morning, Jan. 20, and their main order of business was to approve a Sunshine Law policy, naming the secretary as the custodian of records and establishing a fee schedule for obtaining documents.

In her report, Treasurer Gracie Bouws said $19,607 that was granted to be spent in 2009 remains unused. She said the tourism tax collected a total of $85,367.62 in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Bouws also gave an updated total of the tourism grants awarded at the end of 2009, to be spent in 2010, which is $90,524.

As she has mentioned several times before, Bouws said some hotels continue to not pay their share of the taxes.

"Our plan is to make people aware of the fact and hope that they will do what's right," President Shellee Peuster said Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Stan Moore, representing Marshall Chamber of Commerce Tourism Committee, was also present at the meeting. He said that $11,098.75 in 2009 tourism funds granted to the Chamber and its affiliates was unused, and therefore will be returned to the commission.

Commission members Gary Grote, Bob Kueck and Amy Crump were also present at the meeting. The commission is scheduled to meet again Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 8:30 a.m.

Contact Sydney Stonner at marshallbusiness@socket.net

Scary. I agree with both your posts, Marple.

-- Posted by Night Sky on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 10:06 PM

I think the "encouragement" should take the form of a discussion with whoever is in charge of collecting the tax and the hotel/motel collecting the tax and should go something like this:

Tax Collector: Pay up or else.

Hotel: Or else what?

Tax Collector: We'll shut you down.

And then do it.

Simple, direct, efficient.

-- Posted by Miss Marple on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 6:15 PM

Good point, countryman.

The story quotes commission president Shellee Peuster: "Our plan is to make people aware of the fact and hope that they will do what's right,"

Make who aware? Does "people" refer to the owners of hotels with unpaid taxes or the general public?

Publishing a list of the recalcitrant miscreants would probably go a long way toward encouraging them to do the right thing.

-- Posted by Pragmatist on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 5:54 PM

Are they collecting the tax and then putting it in their pockets? I think there might be a law against that. I mean I realize times are tough but that is taking leniency a bit too far.

-- Posted by broke-n-busted on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 5:29 PM

I am betting they would be selling my stuff on the courthouse steps.

Maybe these places not doing what's right, should not be granted an operating license by the city and county? All we need is one to deny the license and they can't operate...right?

-- Posted by Scarpetta on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 4:21 PM

I'm with you on that one, Ms M. Do you reckon that if you and me decide not to pay our property taxes, the county will hope we "do what's right"?

-- Posted by countryman on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 3:51 PM

Waiting for hotels to do "what's right" on the subject of the "pillow tax" seems pretty casual. Since when is a tax enacted by voters optional?

-- Posted by Miss Marple on Thu, Jan 28, 2010, at 2:53 PM