County Council attends to end of year matters, CVB

In a routine December meeting on Tuesday, the Putnam County Council attended to a number of the issues normally on the agenda for a board as the calendar turns over to a new year.

The council made a pair of board appointments, reappointing Nancy Zennie to the Putnam County Public Library Board and Jane Bray to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Councilmen also gave their unanimous approval to 2016 meeting dates. The council will continue to meet at 6:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Putnam County Courthouse.

In a non-routine matter, Putnam County Convention and Visitor Bureau vice president Eric Wolfe and treasurer Michele Faison came before the council to present the CVB's annual budget.

The CVB budget is drawn solely from the innkeepers tax, meaning it is not subject to direct council oversight. The council is responsible for the county government budget and also has to give binding and non-binding approval to a number of other agencies funded by property taxes.

While this is not the case with the CVB, Wolfe and Faison said their board thought it a good idea to seek council approval. The council members, for their part, seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"So this is what their budget looks like," Councilman Larry Parker remarked.

The CVB budget will hold steady at $251,000 in 2016. All but two of the individual funds within the budget will stay at the same level.

The budget for professional services will reduce from $40,000 to $20,000. There will be less money needed in this area as the CVB comes out of the transitional phase it has been in for much of 2015, requiring a consultant to serve as interim director and an accounting service for an extensive financial review.

With the plan to have the CVB fully functioning in 2016, the printing and advertising budget will increase from $95,000 to $115,000, with the new number comprising nearly 46 percent of the budget.

Understanding that the council's approval was not required, council president Darrel Thomas nonetheless suggested adopting the budget, a move that was given unanimous approval.