With tempered but hopeful expectations, the Cadiz-Trigg County Tourism Commission approved its 2021-22 operating budget on Tuesday afternoon — aiming at $372,500 for the next fiscal year.
It’s not the $586,000 budget from two years ago, but it is a slight uptick from the scripted 2020-21 budget, which was penciled in at $349,000 and proved to be in line with coronavirus concerns gripping west Kentucky’s vibrant tourism industry.
A robust summer schedule — including “Summer in the Park” at West Cadiz Park on June 12, Fireworks at Barkley Beach on July 3, and a two-day tractor pull at the Trigg County Recreation Complex on July 3-4 — highlight hopes of a return to normalcy.
But Executive Director Bill Stevens and his board want to remain cautious.
One reason for some regained budget confidence? According to Stevens, there’s been a recent surge in lengthy website visits to GoCADIZ.com, and particularly since March 2021.
Another reason for immediate budget optimism: board member and Kentucky Farm Bureau agent JB Moore noted people are looking to permanently relocate to this area.
Stevens and the commission also heard a full breakdown of their 2020 audit from Calhoun & Company’s Debbie Fuller, CPA, on Tuesday.
Of the nearly $576,000 in revenue generated in the last fiscal year, 78 percent came from Trigg County’s 3 percent restaurant tax, while 17 percent of it derived from the 3 percent transient tax.
But in one of the more challenging years for local tourism following COVID-19 complications, the commission experienced a net loss of $40,924 — deflated revenues from March-June 2020 a potential reason.
The 2020 expenditures didn’t far surpass the 2019 ledger ($616,000 in 2020, $605,000 in 2019), with Fuller noting that advertising costs accounted for a bulk of the annual tab.
Stevens and the commission next meet July 13 at 4 p.m.