Champaign council considers funding for convention bureau
CHAMPAIGN — Weeks after Urbana pulled its funding for tourism promotion, the Champaign City Council is scheduled to review its involvement with the Champaign County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
City administrators will recommend the council confirm its commitment to the bureau, but they warn it might mean the city has to pay a little extra in the future. The discussion is scheduled during a council study session at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Champaign City Building, 102 N. Neil St.
In July, Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing vetoed $72,000 worth of funding for the CVB, and the Urbana council upheld that veto. Council members have discussed restoring a portion of that funding but have yet to act.
The Champaign County Board later agreed to provide $15,000 in new funding for the bureau, but that still leaves a question as to whether or not the CVB will receive its full funding from the state, which requires a local match. Right now, it appears participating agencies, which include a number of Champaign County units of government, will be about $15,000 short on the local match, said economic development manager Teri Legner.
The Champaign council members on Tuesday will not consider any new funding for the bureau, but they are scheduled to act on a list of the city's goals and expectations for the CVB. For the past couple years, the city has budgeted about $223,000 in supporting funds for the bureau.
"This is a brand-new list of goals, principles and expectations that we prepared as staff as we learned that Urbana was considering funding at a lower level or not funding," Legner said.
The list formalizes the city's expectations for the CVB to ensure a return on the $223,000. In the past, "we've not necessarily articulated those goals directly," Legner said.
The "quandary" that the CVB faces is whether or not to continue promoting Urbana events in the absence of funding from that city, Legner said.
"It's kind of a mixed bag because not providing service to Urbana doesn't necessarily do the (Champaign County) community justice," Legner said.
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