By Joseph Bell

Staff Writer

Elk County commissioners voted Monday morning to reallocate the disposition of revenues from the county’s Hotel Tax Fund, a move that will give the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau a larger allocation.
“The county collects a small percentage of hotel revenues,” commissioner Daniel R. Freeburg said regarding the issue. “That is designated for tourism usage, specifically to help create more hotel and tourism business.
“In the past, we have allocated it to be 50 percent to the Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau and 50 percent to the hotel tax committee. That committee would then allocate their 50 percent out into the communities for tourism promotion and such.”
After conferring with committee members, the commissioners decided to alter the percentages.
“We’ve had discussions with them and there is to be an increase to the Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau to 75 percent,” Freeburg said. “That would give the hotel tax committee 25 percent.”
Commissioners also voted to take out a Tax Anticipation Note (TAN), a short-term debt obligation issued in anticipation of future tax collections.
“We see the need in our budget to take out this temporary money to allow for payment of the bills until tax revenues come in,” Freeburg said.
According to county solicitor Thomas Wagner, the $950,000 TAN carries a 2.1. interest rate.
“We’ve done this in this amount for about the last five or six years,” Freeburg said as the TAN was paid off early last year.