Okaloosa County BOCC — October 20, 2015 — TDD Manual Revision — agenda request

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: October 20, 2015 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: Ed Schroeder SUBJECT: TDD Manual Revision DEPARTMENT: Tourist Development Department BCC DISTRICT: 2,4,5 STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Request approval of revised Tourist Development Council Bylaws and Tourist Development Department Operations & Procedures Manual. BACKGROUND: The TDC Bylaws and TDD Manual were adopted in March 2013. A draft revision has been prepared for TDC review and discussion. This staff report provides a synopsis of substantive modifications.  A.600.2. Council Terms - allows members to serve two (2) consecutive terms totaling no more than eight (8) consecutive years rather than one (1) term of four (4) consecutive years. The purpose of this change is to enable members appointed to fill vacancies to apply to serve a subsequent full term.  A.600.2. Council Terms - removes the two (2) term restriction for Chairman and Vice- Chairman. The purpose of this change is to provide the Council and Board with flexibility in selecting the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.  A.700. Council Chairman - added to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Chairman.  B.300. Agenda - provides for a two (2) week rather than one (1) week deadline for agenda items requiring Council action. The purpose of this change is to allow sufficient time for TDD staff, and Council attorney if necessary, to provide background information as part of the agenda item.  C.200. Strategic Marketing Plan - defines a promotional reserves category and revises the process for amending the Strategic Marketing Plan.  D. Financial and Tourism Promotion Monitoring - added to define the types of reports that will be provided.  E. Procurement Procedures - more succinctly describes how procurements and payments are made.  F.200. Travel and Entertainment-Related Expenses - defines how the provisions of Florida Statutes Section 125.0104(9) are applied to the TDD, specifically addressing unique circumstances such as trade show expenses, deposits, alcoholic beverages, gratuities, and giveaways.  F.400. Gifts, Gratuities, Discounts, Services, Favors - expanded for clarification.  G. Delegation of Signature Authority - added to provide for signature authority in the Director’s absence.  H. Operational & Capital Funding Requests - added to provide a uniform process to facilitate the review and approval of operational and capital requests for tourist development tax funding. The Local Event Marketing Funding policy, adopted in February 2015, has been clarified based on questions asked during the educational sessions conducted with applicants.  I.300.1.b. Room Nights - defines “room night” to maintain consistency with the Tax Collector’s reporting of rental units collecting the bed tax.  I.300.4. Application Process - clarifies the individual attending the educational session must be the same person signing the application and payment form; clarifies the method of application submission.  Application Form - projected income and expense sections removed as providing this information troubles applicants and the information is not considered as part of the approval process.  Payment Request Form - actual income and expense sections removed. The Tourist Development Council voted to approve the revised Manual at its September 24 meeting. OPTIONS: Approve or Disapprove RECOMMENDATION: Approve the revised Tourist Development Council Bylaws and Tourist Development Department Operations & Procedures Manual as presented. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: John Hofstad, County Administrator