The Snyder Chamber of Commerce board of directors could revamp how it awards hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds.
During Monday’s board of directors meeting, a discussion on a Snyder Daily News Texas Open Meetings Act request for information concerning the June 10 HOT fund committee meeting led to possible changes in how funds are awarded. The controversy arose after members of the public were asked to leave the June 10 meeting so that the committee could discuss applications for HOT funds.
According to the chamber’s contract with the city, the chamber agreed to conduct all business involving HOT funds in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. The Act requires meeting agendas to include information any time a body plans to go into closed session, and limits the reasons a body may enter closed session.
“We are regulated by the Texas Opening Meetings Act because of the tax funds. The discussions must be in open session,” board chair Kristy Tyra said Monday. “We need to follow the rules and be on the up-and-up.”
However, some board members did not agree, saying something could be said during the meeting and get back to the organizer through the media or a person in attendance.
Several board members pointed out a HOT fund request for a rodeo that was held at The Coliseum last year in which one person spoke at the HOT fund committee meeting and the board wanted additional information from another organizer.
In the end, the board voted to pay the rental cost of The Coliseum for the rodeo with HOT funds.
All of those discussions were held in an open format and not during a closed session.
Tyra said the board could vote to have the chamber staff review the applications prior to a meeting and make a recommendation. She said if the staff felt an applicant needed to make a presentation, they would schedule it for the entire board to hear.
Board member Dr. Barbara Beebe, who is a member of the HOT fund committee, said she liked that idea.
“The staff knows the events inside and out,” she said.
However, Jeff Knowles countered that the HOT fund committee was good for consistency. He said prior to the committee presenting its recommendations, the board made the decisions and were inconsistent because of who may have been present.
“We could have had one meeting where people were in favor of funding events and other where people would not fund as much,” he said. “The committee was formed for two reasons. No. 1, it was a time saver for the board and No. 2, it would get a group of stable people on a committee to provide consistency in allocations. I think putting it on the staff is too much. It is putting off our responsibility as a board.”
The board did not take any formal action on reformatting how to hear HOT fund requests, but Tyra asked directors to consider the staff option in order for a discussion to be held during the July meeting.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the board approved the 2018 compilation financial report compiled by Certified Public Accountant Ricky Bowman.
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