ELY —The Ely Area Tourism Bureau is asking the city council to slow down proposed changes to how lodging tax dollars are distributed, warning that hasty decisions could undermine the local tourism economy and eliminate jobs.
Abby Dare, executive director of the tourism bureau, presented a detailed proposal to the council requesting that the city’s representative on the Joint Powers Board postpone any permanent funding changes until a comprehensive strategic plan can be developed.
“Smart leadership, strategy, and accountability is required when determining how these dollars must be spent,” Dare told the council.
Current funding structure at risk
The tourism bureau currently receives 95 percent of Ely’s lodging tax collections, as required by state statute, with the remaining 5 percent going into reserve funds. However, requests from the City of Ely and the Ely Chamber of Commerce for portions of that funding have prompted discussions about restructuring the allocation before the Joint Powers Board’s October 13th meeting.
Dare proposed using the reserve funds as a “one-year contingency” to meet the current requests while allowing time for strategic planning during 2026. She emphasized that splitting the 95 percent allocation among multiple entities would severely impact the tourism bureau’s operations.
“The tourism bureau would not be able to do what we’re doing and would not have the staff that we have,” Dare said.
Staffing and local jobs
A significant portion of Dare’s presentation focused on the bureau’s staffing model and its economic impact. The organization currently employs mostly contractors, including marketing professionals, graphic designers, photographers, PR specialists, grant writers, and podcast producers, all of them working to promote area tourism
“These are all skilled, qualified people who know Ely,” Dare said. “This local expertise means that our advertising is sharper, more accurate, and more authentic.”
The bureau is currently advocating to move its marketing director into a full-time position, citing both operational benefits and the value of creating stable, household-supporting jobs in the community.
Data challenges
complicate picture
Dare acknowledged challenges in measuring tourism’s actual impact, calling the available data “incomplete.” While lodging tax collections remain the best available metric, complications arise from Lake County’s separate 1% tax and the difficulty of tracking payments from online booking platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.
“It becomes very challenging to track whether it ever makes it back,” Dare said of taxes collected by online platforms, noting this is a problem many communities face.
The bureau is working with a compliance vendor to identify lodging businesses not paying required taxes, though Dare cautioned that much preparatory work remains before enforcement can begin effectively.
Call for strategic framework
Dare expressed concern about the current governance structure leading to a hodgepodge of demands from different agencies with little effort made to coordinate an overall vision for the tourism industry.
“The lack of clear roles, strategic planning, and vision is creating confusion and uncertainty, and sometimes conflict,” she said.
Her proposal calls for the Joint Powers Board to focus on lodging tax compliance across counties during 2026 while seeking “leadership and strategic planning assistance” to develop a formal framework for future spending decisions.
Council response mixed
Councilors asked questions about governance, oversight, and the negotiability of the 95% allocation.
“My concern is with your recommendation here – what you’re asking us to do is take away the voice of the lodging tax board and give all control to the tourism bureau,” Councilor Al Forsman said. “That is concerning to me.”
Dare clarified that her intention was not to eliminate other voices but to ensure decisions are made within a strategic framework rather than on an ad-hoc basis.
Councilor Adam Bisbee questioned whether the 95% figure was negotiable. Dare confirmed it could be adjusted but said she couldn’t identify the exact threshold that would begin to harm operations at the tourism bureau, a point that sparked discussion about the difficulty of making decisions without complete data.
Councilor Emily Roose expressed support for the proposal, emphasizing the value of using reserve funds to meet current requests while developing a proper framework.
“I think it’s really important that they come up with a strategic plan,” the councilor said. “Without a good framework, more requests could keep coming in, and those dollars could keep getting split to other places.”
The council ultimately voted 6-1 to direct their Joint Powers Board representative to consider Dare’s 2026 recommendations, which call for maintaining the current 95 percent allocation to the tourism bureau while funding other requests from reserves and developing a strategic plan during the year.
Bisbee cast the lone dissenting vote.
The Joint Powers Board is scheduled to vote on budget requests at their Oct. 13meeting.