CAO-22-2704

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TranscriptWhat was said at each appearance is below it. Machine transcription, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 90% of 29 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.

1. 1Apr 5, 2022
   Board of County CommissionersP49Public hearingAdopted

   Approved minutes

   Approved to adopt by a roll call vote.

   Open this item →▶ Play from 1:56:56
   ▶ 1:56:567m

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   1:56:56And remember I turned here something. Yes, thank you. Good afternoon. And uh welcome to the afternoon session of the Board of County Commissioners. At this time, please make sure your phones are silenced. And I will find my place here. Um so we're at the uh April fifth meeting of twenty twenty two. We'll now proceed with public hearing starting starting with ordinance P forty nine.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   1:57:26Item P forty nine was published in the Tampe Times on March twenty third, twenty twenty two.

   attorney to the tourist development council

   1:57:31Good afternoon Commissioners. Elizabeth Lair, Senior Assistant County Attorney. Today is the adoption of public hearing on an ordinance amending Chapter 102, Article 4, to increase the tourism development tax from four percent to five percent. And to update the tourist development plan for 2022 to 2023. The taxes imposed on an overnight stays within the both unincorporated and incorporated areas of Pasco County, where the duration of the stay is six months or less. In 1990, the county adopted an initial 2% tourism tax, which was increased to 4% in 2017.

   1:58:01This matter was reviewed by the Tourist Development Council on March 23rd, and the TDC recommended approval of the increase. This is the last increase that the county is currently eligible for. The title of the ordinance is as follows. An ordinance by the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners, amending ordinance nine ninety-ten as amended, codified in Chapter 102 of the Pasco County Code of Ordinances, by amending sections one hundred two and one hundred eighty-six and one hundred two-one ninety. To levy and impose an additional one percent local option tourist development tax and

   1:58:31to amend and update the tourist development plan for Pasco County, providing for inclusion in the Pasco County Code of Ordinances, severability, conflicts, and an effective date. Adam Thomas, your tourism director, is also here to say a few words. After hearing from him, I ask that you open the public hearing on the amendments to g and adopt the ordinance by roll-call vote. Any questions for me? All right, thank you.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   1:58:53No? Again. Good afternoon, Anne.

   Pasco County

   1:58:56Thank you, Ms. Ms. Blair, Chairman Sarkey, fellow commissioners, thank you so much for the opportunity to even have this discussion to increase what we call in our industry a user fee. This is paid by the visitor that that comes and stays in our short-term lodging. And in 2019, you invested and supported our rebrand of Florida. Sports Coast. And since then, we've have taken our market share to new heights and new levels that we currently

   1:59:27previously did not reach. And since 2019, we've we've seen our visitor economy grow with the current resources that we already have in place. And we can't thank you enough for even having the discussion today to further expand that share of voice, not only in our domestic market. to our to our target audience, but now taking the brain and telling our story at the community level. to our international marketplaces, especially in Europe, which we now are attracting visitors from. So today

   1:59:57I just say thank you very much for your consideration and it with this increase and uh I'm here for any questions or comments.

   Jack MarianoVice Chair

   2:00:04Madam Chair? Yes. Just this was passed um unanimously with the Tourist Development Council. Um no real issues, no questions. Like Adam stated, um it's not our citizens here in Pasco County to pay this, it's actually people that come and visit. We're the lowest in the area and as we all know Adam and his team have done an excellent job with the funds they've received so far and um you know just the the numbers um back it up for the increases that um they've been able to achieve. And um I have a had one pre person reach out

   2:00:34that said they're Uh anything negative about this and the hotelers are on board and they're the ones that are if they're gonna have concerns or the ones are gonna have concerns about it. So I know we had to take public comment, but I'm definitely obviously supporting.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:00:47Did I? Does anyone else want to speak? Um all right, do we have any public comment on this item? Madam Chair, the no one has signed up and no one on WebEx on this, but I don't know if anyone else is here. If you're standing up to speak and you want to speak then please come to the podium and give us your name and address. Is there anyone online that is signed up? Make sure she knows

   Madam Chair

   2:01:07this is on

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:01:07the

   Madam Chair

   2:01:07tourist development.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:01:08This is on the tourist development um item. Okay. Ma'am, wait till you get to the microphone, please. Yeah.

   Unidentified speakerVoice A

   2:01:17Yes, I understand Chairwoman Starkey. It's about the tourist tax Can you uh give us your name and address? Yes, it's Kathy with a Kay Lambert in [address removed] Howard City resident for forty nine years, fifty next May. I would just like to say this. I was here Back when you first instituted this tax and Saddlebrook was here and very much against it. And I think I was the only member of the

   2:01:47public that supported Saddlebrook in their opposition to having this tax. I just want to say this. I would like to see some real Republicans up here and prove that they're not going to keep digging into the taxpayers' wallets, whether they're from Dade City or D C and Washington D C coming down here to enjoy The county. I do believe that If

   2:02:17you're going to spend money on MLB, Major League Baseball, to uh take care of the billionaires that own these teams and use tax funds for it, you won't be in office very long. That's all I have to say. Thank you.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:02:35Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to address?

   Jack MarianoVice Chair

   2:02:41No. Madam Chair, before I make a motion, I I will state for the record that um Saddlebrook is on the Tourist Development Council and they were very supportive of this as a voter on this Tourist Development Council. The previous um concerns they had were and in reference to something that has nothing to do with what we're voting on this time around. They had past concerns. So they were on board, they voted for on the tourist development council. So like I said, it was unamous. With that, I'll make a motion to approve. Second.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:03:07And and under discussion I have not had any opposition from anyone in that industry. Heard not a peep.

   Jack MarianoVice Chair

   2:03:13They actually welcomed it.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:03:14Yeah, exactly. They think it's

   Jack MarianoVice Chair

   2:03:16they pay for the pace for the tourism to come this way. Yeah, gets them more

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:03:19business. So Okay, with

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:03:22with that um it's a roll call vote. District One, Commissioner Oakley.

   Sheriff

   2:03:27Aye.

   Kathryn StarkeyChair

   2:03:27District two, Commissioner Oakley District 4, Commissioner Fitzpatrick. Aye. District five, Commissioner Oriano. District three, Chairman Starkey. Aye.