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Tiburon is giving more than $100,000 to the city’s business and tourism organizations to supplement lost revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The City Council last month voted unanimously to split $103,736 between the Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and Destination Tiburon.
The amount is determined by the temporary residence tax revenue collected by the city, which is allocated annually to the companies. The money was provided to the city by the American Savings Plan Act. The council voted on the issue on September 21.
The city received $907,772 in property tax revenue in the 2018-19 fiscal year, city officials said. The unit and Destination Tiburon each received 5% of the total, or $45,389. That allocation drops to $31,932 in 2019-20. $21,165 in 2020-21; and $39,535 in 2021-22.
“As the budget years go down, you hit a high water point in 2019,” said City Manager Greg Chanis. We have seen the effects of covid in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Tourism, especially hotels, was one of the hardest hit industries during the outbreak. Statewide lockdowns have halted travel and restricted boarding services at critical times for three years. He pointed out that this year alone, business and travel companies may return to pre-pandemic levels.
The amount is based on the lodging tax revenue collected in the previous pre-Covid fiscal year 2018-2019, which would have increased by 3% per year had the pandemic not occurred. City staff estimated a total deficit based on the estimated cost versus what was actually received.
The first-rate hotels identified by city staff are the Tiburon Lodge and Water’s Edge Hotel.
Dean Biss, CEO of the Tiburon Chamber of Commerce, said the refund represents about half of the organization’s budget. The group has 111 members, she said, although a few businesses pay $500 a year, while most small businesses pay $175 a year.
“When I talk about collaboration, my sole job and the chamber’s job is to connect our local businesses with our community and our visitors,” she said. “These funds will help us take it to the next level.”
Destination Tiburon receives funding through the Tiburon Tourism Business Improvement District, which allocates a 2% fee on hotel receipts.
Destination Tiburon received $181,554 in business improvement district revenue for the 2018-19 fiscal year. Those values drop to $127,728 in 2019-20. $84,658 in 2020-21; and $158,142 in 2021-22.
The City Council voted 3-2 to deny Destination Tiburon’s request to reimburse $207,474 in lost revenue. Council members Holly Thier and Noah Griffin voted in favor, while Councilwoman Alice Fredericks, Vice Mayor Jack Ryan and Mayor John Wellner voted against.
“This is a way for us to offset some of the losses with the funds that we have been given for that purpose,” Thier said. “I’ve seen both of these individuals and their organizations and how they’ve spent their money and I think a lot has been done to take Tibiron to the next level.”
Stephanie Fermin, executive director of Destination Tiburon, said her company often promotes tourism through marketing and advertising strategies. The budget is around $250,000, she said.
“Not taking advantage of this growth for our city is a missed opportunity,” she said. “As the city’s main conduit for visitors, Destination Tiburon is simply begging to be reconfigured.”
Ryan Fermin said how the extra funding will be used may come back at the interim meeting.
The American Recovery Plan Act, allocated 2,173,086,000 federal funds for pandemic relief.
The city previously earmarked $486,600 for a pilot night ferry program, a county homeless initiative contribution, a ranch recreation program and a broadband strategic plan contribution.
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