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SLO County creates a tourism district

June 11, 2015

slo county signThe San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to create an agency that will impose fees on lodging businesses in order to raise marketing money for bolstering tourism in the county. [Tribune]

When it comes into existence on July 1, the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Marketing District will begin levying 1 percent assessments on all overnight rentals in the county. The assessment affects hotels, motels and inns, as well as vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts and RV rental parks.

The new district is expected to raise an estimated $2.8 million a year. The money will go to Visit San Luis Obispo County, a nonprofit that is supposed to spend the funds on marketing efforts aimed at attracting more tourists and convincing them to stay longer than just a day or two.

Supporters outnumbered opponents two to one at Wednesday’s meeting. Some business owners, though, asked the supervisors to exempt vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts.

Vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast owners who spoke at the hearing said they do their own marketing and have higher occupancy rates than hotels and motels. They also said large hotels, not small lodging businesses, should finance the district.

Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Frank Mecham said they were willing to to exempt vacation rentals and RV parks, but the other members of the board did not agree.


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How did this get under the radar, who will get the Larry Allen-sized government salary to “run” this thing, and who do I have to pay off to get in line for the job?


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The motto of government; rape, pilage and plunder any profit or potential profit from the tax payers. While building our retirement benefits and salary increases. Absolute bullcrap.


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What is a tourism district going to do that free internet advertising cannot do, except take more taxpayer dollars? Seriously, with all of the social media, internet websites, etc; why do we need anyone?


Is there a proposal of the specific tasks, a business plan? What salary would this person/people be paid? Who decides where dollars are spent? Who oversees the budget?


1

more theft at the hands of the government so some non profit marketing scam artist can have an exorbitant salary on the taxpayers dimes. Absolute BS. CORRUPT.


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More tax n spend liberal BS.


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But most of the BOS are CONSERVATIVES???


So, this must be more CONSERVATIVE tax and spend BS?


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All politicians are the same. Their primary goals are to stay in power and grow government. I would like to see them all on their knees on a beach in the Middle East.


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I don’t think they are conservatives (all caps or not); they might be Republican or Democrat, but as I’ve said for years that does not matter. Only a complete tool, who is of no use to anyone, still jumps around pointing out “it’s the OTHER party!” – not knowing how ignorant and foolish they look while doing so.


Rapeublicans and Dumbocrats absolutely DO NOT have any interest other than one’s own preservation at heart. Period. Neither are conservative, nor liberal (as the classic definition is). They are all quasi-socialist progressives; that is, out to control every aspect of other people’s lives because they feel they are more suited to do so than us chimps.


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I honestly think that they sometimes don’t even understand what they’re doing with any sense of consistency. That’s why it’s nearly impossible to discuss this issue with them and point their cognitive dissonance out. They lack the metacognitive skills to understand the danger in their “team player” mentality.


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Progressives come in R and D flavors and both are bad!


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This is a complete joke, like we need to advertise, need more traffic, need less water and increase our infrastructure expenses while stopping local resources. The County will be like a beach community where we can all morph into a host and cheer on the foreign owned businesses. WELCOME TO THE SLO LIFE, hurry up and spend your money! Local Gov is now in tall cotton what next?


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When will the insanity end?

Let’s raise the price of a service to get more people to use said service?

Only in the world of Government does that make sense.

And how much do you want to bet that friends of those in power will reap the rewards of the $2.8million?


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Who iis the tourism czar? Who much just $ is going to the czar and supporting staff and overhead?


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That’s why I vote “NO” for any tax that doesn’t state a % cap on administration cost, say around 10% and where the money collected can not be put into the “General Fund” and must be used for what it is supposed to, with a required outside audit to be conducted at least yearly, with the results made public without redaction. Plus it must have a sunset clause of not more than 5 years.


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I vote for Adam Hill!


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the new face of san luis obispo tourism.


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So let me get this straight. A new agency with new government employees is being created to take money from businesses for the purpose of helping those same businesses make more money.


Great.


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I’m from the government and I’m here to help.


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