Tourism panel approves reduced budget for 2021

FAYETTEVILLE — The city’s tourism panel next year will reduce costs in advertising, eliminate grants for third-party events and wind down operations at the museum dedicated to the Clinton family to have a balanced budget.

The Advertising and Promotion Commission on Monday approved a nearly $4 million budget for 2021. The approved budget for this year was about $5.3 million. However, in June the commission cut the budget by nearly $1.3 million to account for revenue loss from the pandemic.

Cuts made in June included eliminating two positions and laying off most part-time employees at the Fayetteville Town Center. The adopted budget for next year makes no additional staffing cuts, except at the Clinton House Museum, and leaves room to reinstate positions as needed, said Molly Rawn, chief executive officer of Experience Fayetteville, the city’s tourism bureau.

The commission is the governing body over tourism. In September, commissioners decided to wind down operations at the Clinton House Museum over the course of next year. One full-time position will remain paid for through February, Rawn said.

The commission will pay $39,365 next year to cover rent, bills and maintenance at the museum next year. The adopted budget for the Clinton House Museum for this year had $264,483 in expenses and $24,800 in revenue.

Annual grants to subsidize

The adopted budget for next year makes no additional staffing cuts, except at the Clinton House Museum, and leaves room to reinstate positions as needed, said Molly Rawn.

third-party events will be eliminated. The commission historically has financially supported events that help bring people to town, although in recent years, the dollar amount has gone down.

The commission originally proposed spending $ 120,000 in grant support for this year but will end the year with $70,000 spent. A number of events canceled this year because of covid-19.

Rawn said the commission can still support events next year from other parts of the budget.

Experience Fayetteville’s advertising budget next

year is $415,000, compared to $526,000 budgeted this year. The last time the commission budgeted less than $500,000 in advertising was six years ago, she said. Travel and training expenses for staff also were cut. Next year’s allocation for First Thursday will remain at full strength, at $35,500, although the event could look different next year depending on the state of the pandemic, Rawn said.

As far as revenue, next year’s budget assumes the state’s Phase I restrictions on restaurants and lodging will not go back into effect. Most of the commission’s money comes from half of the city’s 2% sales tax on hotels, motels and restaurants.

Next year’s projected hotel, motel and restaurant tax revenue for the commission is nearly $ 3.5 million. Rawn compared the amount to about $3.7 million in 2019, which was a normal operating year, to show an anticipated 7% decrease in revenue. Using the same comparison, revenue at the Fayetteville Town Center is projected to drop about 50% to $ 363,750, compared to $791,243 in 2019. Other sources of revenue should account for about $151,000 next year.

Rawn said she plans to review the budget again with the commission after the first three months of the year. She compared expected revenue to 2017’s $4.2 million budget.

Commission Chairman Matthew Petty, who also serves on the City Council, praised the way Rawn presented the budget and expressed hope for the year.

“Twenty seventeen wasn’t all that bad of a year. In fact, it was a pretty good year for us,” he said. “If 2021 can have some of the same kind of energy as 2017, that’s kind of looking up.”