Committee make A-Tax recommendations
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
The Darlington County Accommodations Tax Committee convened its final meeting of 2017 on April 6 to determine funding recommendations for the 2017/18 fiscal year.
The Accommodations Tax Committee is responsible for dispersing a $55,000 funding pool to applicants whose venues and events increase local tourism and overnight hotel stays. The accommodations tax pool comes from the state-mandated two-percent tax on hotel and motel stays, which is collected by the state and channeled back to counties and municipalities. These agencies then distribute accommodations tax monies to applicants who can demonstrably increase local tourism.
Members of the Darlington County Accommodations Tax Committee include: Joey Saleeby (chairman), David McFarland (vice chair), Joyce Wingate, Steve Tinney, Scotty Jeffords, Carol Bishop, and Hannah Stanley.
This year’s applicants, their funding requests and the committee’s recommendations are as follows:
Black Creek Arts Council RenoFest: requested $15,000; received $10,000
Butler Heritage Foundation / Butler Week: $12,000; received $4,600
City of Darlington / Williamson Park 5K: $2,500; received $800
Darlington Chamber of Commerce / Freedom Fest: $10,000; received $2,700
Darlington County Cultural Realism Complex / Total Package: $52,000; received $1,700
Darlington Downtown Revitalization / Taste of Darlington: $2,500; received $1,000
Darlington Downtown Revitalization / Yam Jam: $5,000; received $1,000
EdVenture, Inc. / EdVenture Hartsville Satellite: $5,000; received $1,500
Florence CVB / Darlington Car Hauler Parade: $5,000; received $1,600
Hartsville Community Center Bldg. Comm/Center Theater: $12,600; received $5,600
Hartsville Community Dev. Foundation / Ag+Art Tour: $1,000; received $600
Hartsville Community Organization / Frets & Necks Fest: $12,500; received $1,600
Lamar Egg Scramble: $5,000; received $3,000
Pilot Club / Sweet Potato Festival: $4,000; received $3,000
SC African American Heritage Foundation: $7,875; received $1,400
SC Junior Golf Foundation / Players Championship: $7,500; received $5000
Society Hill Catfish Festival: $3,000; received $3,000
Southeastern Bluegrass Association: $12,000; received $3,000
YMCA: $5,500; received $2,500
One additional applicant, the New Vision Community Development Annual Rice Festival, received approval from Darlington County Council to be considered for funding. They requested $8,580 in funding and received $1,400.
In total, these requests add up to $188,555, but the total A-tax money available this year only amounts to $55,000.
Committee member Steve Tinney questioned why the funding pool actually shrank year over year (from $82,000 in fiscal year 2014/15 to $65,000 for 15/16) when the number of hotels in Darlington County has actually grown.
As it happens, Darlington County’s A-tax receipts for this past year were estimated based on previous year’s returns because the county had not received a completed audit for fiscal year 2015/16, meaning future A-tax funding pools may increase once accurate figures are available.
Committee members considered all applicant requests, evaluated supporting documentation regarding tourism impact and the number of “heads in beds” each event yields, and voted their funding recommendations, which will be forwarded to Darlington County Council for final approval at their May 1 regular meeting.