Bill would redirect bed-tax revenue

A bill proposed by state Sen. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish, would give the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau a portion of Big Mountain Resort's bed-tax revenue.

Senate Bill 418, heard in the Senate Taxation Committee earlier this week, revises the allocation of bed taxes for cities such as Whitefish that have convention and visitor bureaus.

Although passage of the bill would mean more money for the Whitefish visitors bureau, it would reduce the amount of Big Mountain bed-tax revenue allocated to this area's regional tourism bureau, Glacier Country.

The bill targets city zoning districts outside of city limits, and states that if 22.5 percent of the bed-tax proceeds collected annually within the zoning district exceeds $35,000, half of the amount available for distribution to the regional tourism bureau would be distributed to the nonprofit convention and visitors bureau in that city.

There are 11 city bureaus in Montana.

Jan Metzmaker, executive director of the WCVB, said she was told Big Mountain's allocation to the Whitefish bureau would be roughly $10,000-$15,000 a year, depending on the number of visitors staying at the resort.

Metzmaker and bureau vice chairwoman Rhonda Fitzgerald testified at the committee hearing on Monday.

Fred Jones, president and chief executive officer of Winter Sports Inc., the corporation that operates Big Mountain Resort, wrote a letter in support of the bill to committee chairman Sen. Jim Elliott.

Jones said using the zoning boundaries to determine bed-tax allocations "more accurately reflects the true area that comprises the Whitefish vacation and visitor experience."

Glacier Country office manager Kathie Lapcevic said Glacier Country's board of directors voted to support SB 418 "by a slim margin," and she wrote a letter of support on behalf of the board.

Getting 11.25 percent in bed-tax revenue from lodging properties within the Whitefish zoning district instead of the current 22.5 percent allocation will affect the organization's budget, but not by much.

Glacier Country services eight counties, including Flathead, and has a $1 million annual budget that includes $900,000 from bed-tax revenue and about $100,000 from travel magazine advertising sales and memberships.