Okaloosa County BOCC — January 8, 2013 — TDD Amended OP Manual - redline 2-15 — reading text

1  OPERATIONS & PROCEDURES MANUAL REVISED: September 18, 2012February 19, 2013 Revision: # 14 TDC approved: August 6, 2012 Board approved: September 18, 2012 2  TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL A.000 General .................................................................................. 54 A.100 Statement of Organization ...................................................... 54 A.200 Location of Office .................................................................... 54 A.300 Legal Authority ........................................................................ 54 A.400 Mission................................................................................. 64-5 A.500 Council Composition/Vacancies ...................................... 5-6-10 A.600 Staff ..................................................................................... 8-96 A.700 Regular Council Meetings ....................................................... 96 A.710 Location.......................... . .............9 and Notice.......................... .............7 A.720 Agenda........................................................................... .........97 A.730 Rules of Procedure............. ............................... ................9-107 A.740 Minutes.............................. ......................................... ..........108 A.750 Notice to Public.................. ........................................ .............10 A.750 Amendment of the Operations and Procedures Manual.............8 B.000 Standing Committees ........................................................... 11 B.000 Activities Under the Tourist Development Council.............. 8 B.100 General Purpose ............................. 11........................................ ..9 B.200 Selection and Composition...................................... .......... 11-12 B.300 Service and Removal............................ .................................. 12 B.400 Committee Management..................................... ............... 12-13 .................................................................................................... CHAPTER TWO: TOURIST DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT C.000 Personnel and Expenses ................................................. 1310 C.100 Role of the Advisory Council...................13Personnel Matters................... 10 C.200 Status of Personnel............................ ................................. 1310 C.300 Human Resources Policies............................. .................... 1310 C.400 Travel Procedures............................. ................................. .1310 C.410 General........................................ ....................................... 1310 C.420 Definitions.................................... .................................. 1410-11 C.430 Approval of Travel Expenses.................... .......................... 1511 C.440 Travel Forms................................... ............................... 1511-12 C.450 Reimbursable County Travel and Expenses .............15-1612-13 C.500 Reimbursable Promotional Travel and Expenses .....16-1713-14 D.000 Tourist Development Plan and Budget ........................... 1714 D.100 Tourist Development Plan Adoption..................................17-1814 D.200 Budget Adoption........................................................18-1914-16 3  D.300 Accounts....................................... ...................................... 1916 D.400 Expenditures................................... ............................... 2016-17 E.000 Contracts with Third Parties ............................................ 2017 E.100 Contract Specifications........................ .......................... 20-2117 E.200 Contract Requirements.......................... ........................ 2117-18 E.300 Contract Compliance........................................................... 2118 E.400 Contract Approval.............................. ................................. 2218 E.500 Communications with Contractors................ ...................... 2218 E.600 Contract Payment Approval Procedures....... ................. 2218-19 E.700 Additional Procedures for Administration of Advertising and Promotion Contract ................................... 2319 F.000 Activities Under Tourist Development Council .................. 23 F.100 General........................................ .................................... ..23-24 G.000 Special Event and Sponsorship Funding GF.100 Purpose........................................ .................................... ...2419 GF.200 Authorization........................................ ............................. ..2520 GF.300 Procedure........................................ .........................25-2620-21 GF.400 Special Event Grantand Sponsorship Funding Guideline...............................26-28………......21 G.500 Special Event Grant Funding Criteria..................................28-29 G.600 Sponsorships.............................................................................29 H.000 Operations and Procedures Manual.................................29-30 4 5  CHAPTER ONE: TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL A.000 GENERAL A.100 STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATION Pursuant to the Local Option Tourist Development Act, Section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, Okaloosa County, Florida (the "County"), has: established an advisory group known as the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council (the "Council"); imposed a Tourist Development Tax (5%); and approved a Tourist Development Plan pursuant to the mission set forth in A.400. The Council is responsible for advising the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners (the “Board”) on the implementation of the Tourist Development Plan in accordance with State and County Procedures and within budgetary limitations imposed by the Tourist Development Tax Revenues. The following areas are subject to oversight by the Council: 1) Emerald Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.; 2) Emerald Coast Film Commission; 3) Emerald Coast Convention Center; and 4) Emerald Coast Official Visitor Welcome Center. In order to establish the procedures by which the Council will carry out its business and the Tourist Development Plan will be implemented, the Council and the Board havehas approved this Operations and Procedures Manual as the guiding instrument. A.200 LOCATION OF OFFICE The Council has established its business offices at 1540 Miracle Strip Parkway SE, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548. All official business correspondence with the Council or any of its members shall be directed to the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council, P.O. Box 609, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549-0609. A.300 LEGAL AUTHORITY Legal authority for the Council is found under Section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, (2007 Supp.) known as "The Local Option Tourist Development Act"; Okaloosa County Ordinance 89-23 as subsequently amended and Resolution No. 89-40, establishing the Council and stating the intent to levy a Tourist Development Impact FeeTax. As an appointed Advisory/Oversight Board of the Board, the Council is bound by State and County Laws, Ordinancesordinances, and Proceduresprocedures governing the Council members and their activities, onand procedures of reviewing expenditures of the tourism impact feestourist development tax revenues. 6 A.400 MISSION 1) The Council’s primary responsibility is to advise and make recommendations to the Board on matters related to tourism sales, marketing, and advertising of our beautiful Emerald Coast to the “outside world” to help increase overall visitation and occupancy. The Council shall advise and make recommendations to the Board for the effective operation of the special projects or for uses of the Tourist Development Tax revenue. The Council shall continuously review expenditures of revenues from the Tourist Development Trust Fund and shall receive expenditure reports, at least quarterly, from the Tourist Development Director (the “Director”). The Council shall periodically make recommendations to the Board for changes to the approved Tourist Development Plan. 2) The Council shall also make annual recommendations on the promotion and operation of the Emerald Coast Convention Center, operation of the Visitors Welcome Center, the funding of beach cleaning, beach restoration improvements, a certified mandated State of Florida turtle watch program, water testing throughout Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, the Emerald Coast Film Commission, funding a percentage of the Beach Life Saving Program (beach lifeguards), funding public beach County access parks, funding improvements and maintenance of other tourist destination facilities within the sub-district, funding the artificial reef program, and overseeing the environmental council. A.500 COUNCIL COMPOSITION/VACANCIES 1) Composition. The composition of the Council shall be as set forth in Section 125.0104, Florida Statutes, and Resolution 89-40 dated April 18, 1989, as amended. The two seats required for The Council shall be composed of nine (9) members, seven (7) of whom shall be appointed by the Board, including the Chair of the Board, or any other member of the Board as designated by the Chair. Two (2) members of the Council shall be elected municipal elected officials shall be filled with , at least one member of whom shall be from the Fort Walton Beach City Council or Mary Esther/Cinco Bayou City Council, and one member from the Destin City most populous municipality in the County or sub-district. These two (2) members shall be appointed by their respective governing boards. Six (6) members of the Council (these positions serving as liaison members of those municipalities). In addition, the composition of the Council shall, to the greatest extent possible, reflect equal representation for the distinct geographic areas of the district. Therefore, the composition shall include 4 members from the Fort Walton Beach/Mary Esther/Okaloosa Island/Cinco Bayou areas (with 7  emphasis given to Okaloosa Island and Fort Walton Beach) and 4 members fromshall be persons who are involved in the Destin area, or as close to this distribution as possible and at least tourist industry and who have demonstrated an interest in tourist development, of which members, not less than three (3 and no) nor more than four (4 of them should) shall be owners and/or operators of motels, hotels,