Projected expenditures amount to over $2.2 million
A public hearing on the Swain County Tourism Development Authority Budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is scheduled for Wednesday, June 11 at noon.
Its fiscal year is July 1 through June 30. The budget has been presented to the TDA Board and is available for public inspection at the Swain County Visitor Center and Heritage Museum.
According to the document, total predicted expenditures amount to $2,258,313. Projected costs for advertising and marketing are $708,986; payroll and benefits are slated for $468,616; and the Christmas Light Show is projected at $355,000.
“We looked at fiscal information for past years,” said Sarah Conley, TDA executive director. “We’re looking at past occupancy tax collections. Part of my job is forecasting. It is my responsibility to look at what’s ahead and decide what I think is feasible for the board. We generally start meeting in January. We’ll meet with all the committees in January, February and March.”
The TDA board operates on occupancy tax, which was raised last May from .4% to .6%.
“It is not funded by local taxpayers,” said Conley.
The TDA includes several committees such as finance, beautification, marketing, exploratory events, etc.
“The most important thing, overall, is the finance and marketing committees’ reviews to make sure we’re following our state legislation,” said Conley.
Legislation defines how TDA money can be spent.
“County finance collects occupancy tax from all the lodgers,” said Conley. “Toward the middle of the month, they get a report on the prior month’s lodging numbers and those numbers are turned into the county. The county collects the occupancy tax and withholds the administration fee. Then the rest is given to the TDA fund. Again, it is not local taxpayers’ money and legislation mandates that it is spent on travel tourism.”
At least two-thirds of the TDA’s budget planning must be used to promote travel and tourism.
“If a county collects occupancy tax, they must have a TDA board,” Conley said. “They cannot collect the tax and just put it into a general fund. It has to be administered and authorized by a TDA board. That’s why county commissioners created this TDA.”
By law, the TDA board meets monthly to review expenditures.
“One thing, I think is really exciting that we do is manage this building,” said Conley. “Our visitors center is a county-owned building, but the TDA takes care of it. We pay for the power and water. We make sure the museum is cleaned and that the exhibits are presentable. The downstairs is the visitors center in partnership with Smokies Life.”
Smokies Life sells its merchandise as well as Smoky Mountain National Park permits.
“The upstairs facility is the Heritage Museum,” said Conley. “The TDA stepped in and said, ‘We’ll occupy this building and take care of it. We’ll maintain it and turn it into a visitors center as well as the museum.’ I think it’s a really great partnership between the county and the TDA. We take care of the aquarium and the Fly Fishing Museum in addition to the barn area and farmers market held down there.”
Conley noted the TDA’s largest expenditure is its advertising and marketing budget.
“It includes any of our advertising material like the visitor guides we did,” she said. “It encompasses mailing and printing. It encompasses all our billboards, ad purchases and partnerships with other publications in our state. We are the adventure outdoor capital.”
The total occupancy tax collection for the 2023-24 fiscal year was approximately $1.972 million.
“This year, we anticipated collecting around $2.5 (million) with the .6% increase,” said Conley. “I think we’ll follow just a little bit under that because of Hurricane Helene.”
Conley added that it was important to leave enough money for community event grants.
“We want to make sure that we can consider any event or tourism-based event that comes to the board in request of money,” Conley said. “There are grants and sponsorships available.”
More information pertaining to event grants can be found the TDA website.
“Another thing is beautification,” Conely said. “The TDA took over all the flower baskets from the chamber a few years has been very keen on wanting to make sure that the downtown area of Bryson City looks the best it can. This year, the beautification committee worked hard at trying to hone-in on the presentation of flowers and grouping.”
TDA payroll includes eleven to twelve visitors center and aquarium staff. Part-time employees are hired over the winter season and Christmas to assist with maintenance and other needs.
“We do not pay the charity workers,” said Conley. “Charity groups are there to raise their own money.”
Conley said she has matched the TDA’s HR and payroll costs to other applicable counties in the area.
“We’re pretty much on par for it,” she said. “The TDA basically mirrors what the other counties offer.”
Christmas tourism will see an upgrade this coming season.
“The additional funding we have in that line item this year is to pay for the setup, teardown and storage, but they also want to add about 100,000 to 150,000 worth of new lights to that show,” Conley said. “I think it’s going to be incredible. They’re going to have some pretty big displays to add to the drive-through, which we had a really good response to last year.”
The TDA is charged with decorating the town to keep it looking nice for residents while attracting tourists to the area.
Public hearing
The TDA board awaits its 2025-2026 fiscal year public budget meeting at Swain County Administration Building, third floor auditorium, Wednesday, June 11 at noon.
The TDA budget is available for public inspection at the Swain County Visitor Center and Heritage Museum located at 2 Everett Street.