In Plymouth, there is a 6% hotel/motel tax and this year it represents a little over three million dollars in taxes that come to the Town. 45% of that amount is put into the promotion fund to promote tourism, according to Lee Hartmann, Director of Planning and Development— the department overseeing the distribution of the fund by the Visitor Services Board, or VSB.
WATD’s Bobbi Clark has more…
Director of Planning and Development, Lee Hartmann explains:
“The fund is overseen by the Planning Department, the financial component of it, and then by the Visitor Services Board for allocation of funding. The promotion fund was created by a special act through Town Meeting and the State Legislature. 45% of the hotel/motel tax goes into a separate account that’s used to promote Plymouth.”
Hartmann says there are three components to the promotion fund…
“…the first is that a minimum of 10% of the money has to be spent for public improvement. The other is that we go out to bid every year, for two things, one is to hire a business partner to go out and promote Plymouth—and that has been over the last many years, See Plymouth, our tourism partner. So we go out to bid to have somebody support advertising and promoting Plymouth as well as run the Visitors Center, down on the waterfront.”
And, that represents…
“…a total of four hundred and sixty-five thousand that goes to See Plymouth to do those things. It’s important to note, too that that four hundred and sixty-five thousand represents only about 25% of their total budget. They have matching funds from membership as well as from stakeholders.”
In addition, Hartmann says…
“…then we have a minimum of a hundred thirty-five thousand this year that goes for public improvements—it can be more than that–and those public improvements are some of the things you see on the waterfront and downtown: the decorative lights, the plants that are put up and watered each year.”
Appointed by the Select Board, the members of the Visitor Services Board are: Chairman Steve Lydon, Everett Malaguti, Chris Anzuoni, Daniel Contrino, Sue Krabbe, Dick Quintal and Jennifer Stanish.
In Plymouth, Bobbi Clark, WATD News.
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