By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (February 9, 2017) – Stephenville Chamber of Commerce functions as multiple entities under one roof. As the nonprofit organization’s name implies, the staff of six works to promote member businesses, but the chamber office on the downtown square also functions as the hub for information for visitors, business travelers and families looking to relocate the area.
On Tuesday, July Danley, president and CEO, presented the chamber’s 2016 tourism report and proposed 2017 tourism budget to the Stephenville City Council.
Danley explained two other parts of the budget include chamber of commerce revenue and expenses related to the promotion of member businesses and a foundation budget used to filter expenses like those associated with Leadership Stephenville.
While the other parts of the budget were not presented to the council at the meeting, The Flash did request a copy of the membership budget and will provide details in this report.
The annual tourism report presented to the council is a requirement since a portion of the city’s hotel occupancy tax (HOT) allocation – 4 cents on every hotel dollar – is delivered to the chamber’s tourism fund. HOT money and an insignificant amount of interest income serve as the only source of tourism revenue, according to information presented to the council.
Occupancy tax added up to almost $242,000 for the chamber’s 2016 tourism budget and the remaining three cents of the city’s seven-cent allocation were distributed equally between the Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council (CTFAC), Stephenville Historical House Museum and the city, which retains a penny.
The proposed tourism budget for 2017 includes an increased revenue, with an estimated $225,000 in HOT funding and carryover of more than $113,000 from 2016.
When contacted by The Flash on Wednesday, Monica Harris, finance director for the City of Stephenville, said last year’s allocation for CTFAC and the museum was a little more than $61,000 each. Both entities are also required to present their annual budgets to the council, but provide their complete budgets, including HOT-derived revenue and funds collected through donation and fundraisers, admission fees for certain events, facility rental and other events and programs.
Council member Carla Trussell, who also serves on the Stephenville Historical House Museum board of directors, asked questions about the 2017 tourism budget and if the council would have the opportunity to reconsider the four-cent chamber allocation at mid-year.
Harris said the allocation is set by ordinance, which means the council would be required to pass a new ordinance adjusting the allocation. It was also explained that the proposed tourism budget was based on the entire four cents.
Looking back, Danley said HOT allocations increased 5 percent from 2010 to 2011 and increased an additional 13 percent in 2012; 16 percent in 2014; and nine percent in 2015. She said the occupancy tax held steady in 2016.
Meanwhile, the council also received information about how tourism dollars were put to work last year – the chamber operates on a calendar, January through December, not a fiscal year like the city.
Danley said about 2,500 people crossed the chamber threshold last year. She said some of the traffic could be attributed to local business, but well over half of the individuals who entered the chamber were from here for an event and potentially looking to relocate to the city.
Chamber staff reportedly mailed out more than 1,000 visitor information packets, answered more than 5,000 phone calls and provided more than 4,000 goodie bags for visitors attending various events.
Danley said the chamber website tracked about 75,000 directory searches and 80,000 event or calendar views – she did not specifically attribute the website statistics to tourism traffic or internet users outside of the city.
She said the top three chamber website searches were antiques and collectibles, something not offered by many chamber members, followed by attractions and hotels. The chamber website lists 22 chamber members with lodging options – 13 of which are hotels – in Stephenville and the surrounding area.
A new expense for the chamber in 2016 was an eight-day trip to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and World Series of Team Roping Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada in December.
The Flash spoke with Kim Pack Wilson, finance chair, who said the chamber board believed Stephenville needed a presence at the NFR since the city’s name is broadcasted throughout the event due to the number of competitors from the local area.
Pack Wilson also said chamber staff who traveled to Las Vegas were there to encourage relocation and economic development in the area and to also promote tourism, so funding for the trip was derived from both the tourism and member budgets.
Danley said during their time in Las Vegas, chamber representatives visited with hundreds of people and are still continuing to follow up on requests for information.
Payroll expenses for chamber employees appear to filter through the membership budget, with almost $230,000 paid out in 2016 and a $270,000 budget for this year in addition.
The budgets reflect the transfer of funds from the tourism budget to the membership budget for administrative supports – $90,000 in 2016 and a projected $100,000 for this year.
But, it was payroll that’s traveling outside of Stephenville that sparked questions from Trussell. She asked about an out-of-state employee and how the chamber of commerce could justify sending money intended to support local businesses to an employee who works from her home in Montana and reinvests it there.
Danley explained that Jennifer Grandpre, vice president of member services, had been a vital part of the organization before her relocated.
Grandpre’s duties include managing the membership database, website maintenance, new member processing, scheduling of ribbon cuttings, member retention, project coordination, staff training and much more, according to Danley.
“After spending five years in Stephenville, Jennifer fell in love with the community and built integral relationships with businesses and organizations,” she later told The Flash. “Jennifer led our conversion to a new database system and new website and thanks to technology, the Chamber is able to continue to benefit from her expertise and enthusiasm as she serves our members remotely.”
The decision was fully backed by the chamber’s board of directors who have the oversight over the position and monitor progress ensure chamber members are being adequately served, according to Pack Wilson.
Grandpre joined Danley and Lindsey Black, marketing coordinator, at the NFR in December, and Trussell said she believed that investment should have been made on local people who wanted to travel to Las Vegas to promote Stephenville.
Meanwhile, looking at other tourism efforts, Danley said the chamber of commerce provided support 15 major events and numerous other small to midsize events in 2016. She estimated chamber support for the events added up to 6,500 hotel night stays for more than 100,000 visitors and a minimum – and very conservative – impact of $20 million for the local economy.
Following questions from council member Brady Pendleton, Danley said it is easier to track the number of room stays when the chamber is directly involved with reservations. She also said not all hotels track and provide information, meaning determining the number of heads in beds is not always an exact science.
Some of the larger events in 2016 were FFA contests and a World Series of Team Roping qualifier events last July, which Danley said was the largest qualifier in the nation. She also said the success of the roping event led to the scheduling of three this year – in February, July and October.
In 2016 expenses related to the promotion of tourism totaled a little more than $241,000, leaving a net income of about $712 versus a projected deficit of more than $60,000 at the beginning of the budget year.
This year, the budget tourism expenses total more than $300,000 with an anticipated end of year balance of almost $38,000.
The chamber has budgeted $50,000 for advertising and marketing expenses; more than $36,000 for equine/rodeo events; $3,000 for Texas Sheep Dog events; $2,000 for other sporting events; and $12,500 for Tarleton State University athletic events, rodeo/roping events and FFA contests.
Council member Rhett Harrison asked about the support dollars budgeted for events at Lone Star Arena and what would happen if the facility were to close before it is sold.
Danley said the chamber remains hopeful that one of the many investors interested in the property will purchase it and said she did not anticipate it will be shuttered under current ownership or before it is sold.
She also said $50,000 has been set aside in the 2017 budget to provide support to event organizers who are still considering coming to the city and are some who want to hold their events at Lone Star. In an earlier comment, Danely mentioned that some events had been lost due to issues at the arena last year.
The 2017 tourism budget also includes $10,000 for website and technology; $10,000 for renovations to the chamber office, also known as the historic Crow Opera House; and $5,000 for welcome signage and the downtown marquee.
The marquee is an expense for tourism, but it adds revenue to the membership budget, which shows about $25,000 for revenue sponsorships, which are paid at a rate of $250 per month by member businesses.
Tourism is an essential function of the chamber, but the budget and expenses tied to local business membership show the chamber invests a lot of time and funding on that end as well.
According to that budget, membership investments for 2016 were more than $118,000; funds derived projects and events totaled almost $122,000, with $65,000 coming from the annual chamber banquet and auction; more than $32,000 was earned through sponsorship of newsletters, marquee, mixers and networking and the summer activity calendar. Almost $4,400 in fees were collected from chamber ambassadors and $90,000 was transferred from the tourism budget for administrative support.
The membership budget shows total income in 2016 at almost $367,000 and a projected 2017 revenue totaling more than $414,000.
Annual membership dues range from $75 for individuals and nonprofit organizations up to a rate of $200 to $620 per business that is determined by the number of people a business employs.
The membership budget also shows that what is taken in ultimately goes out, with a net profit in 2016 of about $9,000 after total expenses of almost $358,000 were funded last year.
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