Making a slight alteration in the wording of its hospitality tax ordinance is giving Richland County Council a tad more breathing room when it comes to allocating H-tax money to tourism-targeted groups.

Before it was amended, the ordinance required 75 percent of the revenue collected from the tax on prepared foods to be allocated to organizations in unincorporated Richland County, Eastover and portions of Irmo where the county collects the tax. The remaining 25 percent went to other areas — the City of Columbia, the Town of Blythewood and incorporated Richland County.

Now, rather than requiring a 75/25 split, Council has made that objective a “goal.”

“This gives Council a little leeway,” says Richland County spokeswoman Jennifer Dowden. “It’s a change of one word — goal.”

The amendment was expected to become official during a special-called meeting last night after Free Times went to press.

Richland County awards community promotions grants from revenue it collects from the hospitality tax. Because the county only collects hospitality tax in unincorporated areas, however, it has found itself in a quandary when the time comes to decide how to spend the money collected. Many of the groups the county supports are in the incorporated areas.
These include the Columbia Museum of Art, EdVenture and the Township Auditorium, all of which are located in the City of Columbia and are responsible for much of the tourism in the community, according to Councilman Gregory Pearce.

“We believe we have a responsibility to fund those big tourism [magnets],” Pearce says.
For the 2010 fiscal year, more than $2.8 million is available through grants to groups focused on attracting tourists to the county. That money is allocated during the budget process, which the county is undergoing now to decide the amount for the 2011 fiscal year.

A committee reviews applications and makes recommendations to Council, which ultimately decides how the money is spent.

Tom Sponseller, president and CEO of the South Carolina Hospitality Association, says the bottom line is it doesn’t matter so much where the money is spent but how it is spent.

“The [governing state] law says it is to be used for tourism-related things, which means things that will attract visitors. Those visitors and locals create the sales from hotels and restaurants that generate the tax and those uses should always be given priority as a way to not only help the economy but to also generate additional tax revenue at the same time,” he says.

Starting this week, nonprofit groups that wish to apply for tourism-related grants can download a grant application at richlandonline.com. Dowden says than when applying, applicants (most of who are in the incorporated part of the county) can create a stronger application by detailing how they will benefit residents in unincorporated areas. The deadline to submit an application is Feb. 26.

The county will also hold a grant-writing workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 28 in the fourth-floor conference room of the Richland County Administration Building. For more information, call 576-2069.