The Room Tax Commission approved a conservative 2026 tourism/room tax budget after a weaker-than-expected 2025 revenue year, and it redirected some funding away from past recipients toward direct tourism marketing. It also approved a $1,000 request for the Sister City Program, but signaled similar requests should go through a different grant path going forward.
Key Decisions
Commissioners approved the draft 2026 tourism and room tax budget with notable shifts: no $12,000 payment to Two Rivers Main Street, $30,000 held back for future tourism-related capital, and conditional funding for Washington House tied to a plan to increase hours and visitor engagement.
Room tax revenue was reported as running behind budget in 2025, with staff pointing to a slow start and less impact than expected from planned events; commissioners asked for clearer explanations of big budget variances going forward.
The commission approved $1,000 for the Sister City Program, but warned that future requests like this should be routed through the Opportunity Grant Program and Explore Two Rivers instead of coming straight to the commission.
Public Input
No public comments or communications recorded for this meeting.
Agenda Items
REVIEW 2025 YTD TOURISM & ROOM TAX BUDGET TO ACTUAL
Staff reported 2025 room tax revenue was behind budget, saying the year started slow and expected boosts (including around the NFL Draft) didn’t materialize as hoped. Some Q3 tracking and two hotel room tax payments hadn’t arrived yet, so the commission was still waiting on clearer end-of-year signals. Commissioners also pushed for future budget reports to flag big over/under-spending lines with a plain explanation, which is a basic transparency step that shouldn’t be optional.
Staff said they reached out to other tourism organizations to compare 2025 room tax performance, but didn’t yet have hard numbers back. The working impression shared at the meeting was that tourism dipped after the election and then gradually improved. Without actual comparison data, this remains more of a narrative than an evidence-based benchmark for local decisions.
The commission approved the 2026 budget draft with conservative revenue targets based on 2024 actuals, citing the slow 2025 start and economic uncertainty. Key choices included reserving $30,000 previously aimed at the rest stop area for future capital improvements tied directly to tourism/overnight stays, and ending a $12,000 allocation to Two Rivers Main Street—redirecting that money to Explore Two Rivers marketing while asking Main Street for a business plan with measurable results before future consideration. The commission also approved $3,000 for Washington House, with another $1,000 available if it brings forward a plan to expand hours and increase visitor engagement; staff said the budget will be shared with Explore Two Rivers so it can build its 2026 marketing plan within these limits.
The commission voted to approve $1,000 for the Sister City Program. At the same time, it signaled a process change: future requests like this should be handled through the Opportunity Grant Program and Explore Two Rivers, which suggests the commission is trying to tighten how non-core requests reach room tax dollars.
FOLLOW UP ON GEO FENCING & STR ADDRESS VERIFICATION
The minutes list this as a follow-up topic but do not include any details about what was discussed, what was found, or what next steps were assigned. Given that short-term rental address verification can affect compliance and room tax collection, the lack of a written update makes it hard for residents to understand whether the city is closing gaps or just revisiting the issue without action.