Advertising & Promotion Commission Argues over Promoting Monticello Events, Activities, Attractions vs All Funds to Convention Center
April 10th, 2012 by Joe BurgessA heated argument broke out Monday night between members of the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission, on the topic of the 3% hotel tax being used exclusively for the Convention Center project, or whether some Adverting and Promotion funds should be used to “advertise and promote” our local events and activities.
The primary voices heard in the audio are MEDC direcor Nita McDaniel, Kim Patel of Hampton Inn and Days Inn, and Andy Patel of Super 8.
City attorney Witt Barton will be invited to their next meeting, to explain the legalities of use of the tax funds.
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“Advertising and Promotion Commission” – should they not be promoting Montcello – instead of collecting a 3% tax for a building that dosent exist – use the 3% tax on Advertising & Promotion – the Patel’s are correct – it would help them rent more rooms = more tax money. Come on get your heads out of the sand!
Don’t you have to have the business in order to charge the 3% tax in the first place. As it stands whats making people think “Monticello is the place to be”? If the hotels are losing money as a result of having to lower rates to make up the difference to the customers because of the tax rate, isn’t it hurting all parties involved. What go would a conviention center be if there is no one to use it?
After listening to this discussion I have come to the conclusion that some of the people in Monticello are really unaware of what is really going on. The A&P commision was created to generate funds to build a community center on Monticello yet, not a penny is coming from anyone that lives in the town that will attend the facility. People that stay in our hotels have no idea why taxes are 14.5% and they don’t care. All they know is that prices have increased. If prices get too high then they will find other places to stay. Then what? If you are going to charge visitors of Monticello why not also charge the people that are going to use the facility. There are numerous locals, teams and visitors that go eat all over the city. Does the committee not realize how much more money can be made with just a 1% tax increase on food? Really who would dispute a tax that comes out to a penny on a dollar? That strategy makes more money faster. At the rate we are going now the community center will not be in operation for another 15-20 years. Who wants to wait around for that? We need to take action and get this started. It would make Monticello as a whole more prosperous. Whats alarming is that Nita McDaniel is so opposed to the fact that it is more productive to spend money to make money. All the hoteliers buy ads when the chamber of Commerce is selling them. That’s advertising and promotion just as much as the committe is. So I think members Andy, Kim and Sheila know more on the subject because it hits close to home. in order for people to buy something you have to sell it. People just don’t come to the hotels. Its all about selling and marketing it to the people who are going to use it. So if using funds raised thus far for promotion reasons is out of the question I believe that you can expect this project to be off the ground in the distant future. I mean this is a committee for ADVERTISING & PROMOTION. These meetings should be filled more with the people that are going to utilize the facility to get ideas for fund raising and more. We as a community need to be more involved in whats going on in our city!
I agree there should be some funds to promote Monticello events, activities and attractions. What is feasible about NOT promoting
Monticello?
Everyone wants to be the first one to point fingers @ Mrs. Mcdainel. I would like to see any of ya’ll step up and step in her shoes and see if you can do a better job! Just so quick to want to blame someone for something you dont think is going right. If you dont think its going right, get out from behind your computers and get envolved.
i thought the whole idea of this facility is to attract people from out of town to Monticello to spend money at hotels and food places. yes the towns people will use the facility too, but the majority of the people coming to it will be out of towners, people coming in for basketball tournaments and swim meets among other things held at the facility!
you have got to save money to have money for projects. that’s my philosophy, i’m not going to go to the bank for a loan without some money in my pocket. Nita is trying to keep as much money in this projects pockets as possible. the hotel owners want to see results right here right now. and who could blame them??? the more people that stay there the higher their profits are!
what i hear in this audio clip is the hotel owners beating up on Nita because they want to use the money now to benifit their business now. the one guy said we want to make more money so you make more money… well that is true… if hotels have more business then there will be more tax income. but who is to say that the advertising they want to do will be successful?? or will have a high rate of return? this comunity center if advertised properly and used to its full potential is pretty much a guarentteed increase in business for hotel owners and many other businesses in the area. once this center is built, then money from the tax should start to be used for advertising!!!
for them to say that the tax is hurting their business is hard to believe… 3% of 80 dollars is $2.40…. 3% of 100 dollars is $3.00 really???? you are saying you have to lower your room price 2.40 to 3.00 dollars or people wont stay here??? i have a really tough time believing that!
whats happening is the hotel owners are feeling picked on because nothing else is being taxed extra… cry me a river, its not Nita’s fault you are lowering your prices because people are complaining about $3.00, last time i checked cracker box didn’t lower their gas price for me when i complained.
For the people who cant see what is going on here. Monticello is trying to get a building paid for by people who don’t live here…. it is really a brilliant idea! one that has worked for other towns already!!! why should monticellonians pay for a building if they don’t have too??? that’s why the tax was only put on the hotels!!! i imagine very few citizens of Monticello have stayed in the hotels here for more than one night…
a hamburger tax may make more money for this project but that would defeat the whole design of this projects funding. the city officials didn’t want to tax the citizens of Monticello for this project. but they have enough foresight to see that a project like this will benefit their town. so they came up with a way that wouldn’t tax monticellonians but would very much benefit monticellonians!!
the same people complaining right now about only one thing being taxed for this project are the same ones who would be complaining if everything were being taxed for this project!
Obviously, “Wondering” has a personal connection to Mrs. McDaniel. You are so defensive about the fact that I used Mrs. McDaniel’s name that you are missing the point. I don’t care if it was Kim, Andy, sheila or Sherrie that said what Mrs. McDaniel said. I would reference them just as I did with Nita. You are so fixated on the small picture. The purpose of the commitee is to advertise and promote for Monticello. If Nita McDaniel doesn’t see that it takes funds to create funds then I am directing my comment to her. It’s nothing personal. In the end everybody is throwing out ideas to get the community center here. But that is not the groups limitation. There is so much more to be done in this town so if it takes reaching several small goals to get to the community center then I’m all for it. Why are people so closed minded that they can’t see the potential this commitee has to bring to Monticello. So how about you get from behind your computer and get ready for new things to come to the growing city of Monticello
Has anyone ever asked the people who stay in the hotels what what brings them to Monticello? Figure out why the majority of them are here in the first place and there may be a slim chance of spending the “money to make money” in the right places. Otherwise, you will be just like everybody else, spending their money and being broke!
Here’s a novel idea, borrow the money to build the center and charge entrance fees to pay for it. That shouldn’t take long, huh?
Another idea, take the money from the UAM Foundation fund and build it, there’s enough in there to pay cash for it!
I wonder what days the meetings are? I would like to attend!!!
Wonder if citizens of other towns argue as much as we do!!
Not that I have any magic solutions, but it seems that we always have controversy about EVERYTHING.
Everyone is missing the point. The hotels voluntarily submitted to this tax, as everyone should have been asking how eight people have the right to pass a tax period. Why shoiuld a sports complex convention center be built using any taxes without voter approval? Unless UAM wants to pony up 33 million dollars or raise the money, this project should never have began without voter approval.
What about the people that stay at the hotel to work for local businesses or projects here. Do you not think that the 3% hotel tax is not passed back to local businesses and in some case taxpayers? As to 3% or 3.00 per 100 dollars. The whole tax bill is more like $14.50 per 100. It’s probably cheaper to stay in Warren and commute to Monticello. The whole idea of having an emergency meeting to start this convention center (sports complex) was ridculous and the hotels have a valid point as they are single handily paying this tax for this boondoggle that benefits no one. I hope the hotels challenge this tax.
Nita McDaniels attitude has been nothing but hostile to the citizens of Monticello, the judicial system, the County government- now shes biting the hand that feeds her. Maybe we need a less hostile director of the Monticello Economic Development or better yet, let’s dissolve it.
I don’t care.