The 2018-19 fiscal year begins July 1.

Visitors center request

One item commissioners will consider is the Loudon County Visitors Bureau asking for more money from the county. Loudon County currently gives 29 percent from the hotel/motel tax, which visitors bureau executive director Rachel Baker said is the second-lowest contribution level compared to surrounding counties. Hopes are that can be boosted to 48 percent.
 

“Not surprising, Loudon County ranks second lowest in visitor spending among those bureaus surveyed,” Baker said in an email correspondence. “Loudon County’s investment in tourism has lagged its neighboring visitor bureaus, who on average contribute 69.5 percent of hotel/motel tax receipts to tourism.”
 

Baker said the majority of the visitors bureau is funded via hotel/motel tax collections.
 

Along with the county, Lenoir City and Loudon each contribute to the department. Last year’s contributions from the county, Lenoir City and Loudon amounted to $143,000, $30,000 and $5,000, respectively. Requests this year tally $212,000, $140,000 and $20,000.

“Each request has been made on an independent basis with local officials,” Baker said. “When the individual requests were made, the expanded program’s benefits were emphasized for each city, as well as the county, overall.”
 

Loudon County has seen a drop in Tennessee visitors spending, as it recently fell from 26th in the state to 29th. Hotel/motel occupancy in 2017 finished at 54.7 percent, which is down 9 percent and is the lowest it has been in six years, Baker said.
 

The Loudon County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors for two years has investigated the county’s tourism market, Baker said. In spring 2017 the board hired Young Strategies, or YSI, to do quantitative research with a goal in mind to identify target audiences and potential activities to boost tourism. A report from YSI was made in November, which outlined data-based research to support a need for more investment in the county’s tourism. In January, the visitors bureau began investing in a three-year strategic plan to better tourism.
 

“The focus should be on driving occupancy, because greater occupancy equals greater hotel/motel tax receipts, which equals greater tax relief per county household,” Baker said.
 

Bradshaw remains unsure if the county will be in favor of the “huge jump.”
 

“I’ve told them ultimately that’s going to take six votes from county commission for that to happen,” Bradshaw said. “We’ve got a couple of departments that we’re going to focus on from the county standpoint as far as getting some help. We’ve got a couple of positions we need to ... look at, and so that can be a chunk of money. The visitors bureau’s looking for that jump, and if they can get six commissioners to support it and vote for it then we’ll just have to see how it plays out.”

Positions needed

Officials in the animal shelter, planning office and veterans affairs office are hoping to bring a new person on board to help with the workload.
 

Loudon County Veterans Affairs Service Officer Ed Navarro has made an 18-percent increase to his budget to hire an additional service officer, amounting to total budget of $56,113. Navarro currently works 30 hours a week, but he hopes to lessen his hours to 20 to make way for the position. Doing so would allow for an officer to be at the veterans affairs location 40 hours per week.
 

“It’s going to cost you 10 hours of labor,” Navarro said. “It won’t be a full-time person so you don’t have to pay those benefits and that way you would have somebody in my office (five) days a week. I’m not here on Thursday afternoons and Friday, and every time I walk out of the office somebody comes in here.”
 

Navarro made the proposal in preparation for his future retirement. He called the request a win for all parties involved. More free time would also let Navarro visit Greenback, which he used to do.