By Brad Kellar & Bill Oliver
Greenville, TX –
Greenville's Tourism Advisory Board wants to add a city tourism director and slash recommended funding to existing recipients. The advisory board formally presents its findings on how to spend motel-hotel bed tax money to the Greenville City Council Tuesday afternoon.
Next year's budget called for nearly $350,000 to go towards tourism activities. The advisory board wants to spend only $163,000. Over half that, nearly $100,000, would go towards the new director.
Being hit the hardest would be the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau. This year the Chamber and CVB received $101,000. The advisory board wants that cut to $75,000. The original recommendation called for the Chamber and CVB to receive $145,000 next year.
The advisory board wants to give Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum the same amount, $25,000, as this year. The museum was slated to receive $65,000.
Keep Greenville Beautiful would see the five thousand allocated next year completely eliminated and the nearly $21,000 earmarked for the Greenville Railroad Museum in the Old Katy Depot would be cut to $3,500.
The tourism board's recommendations are part of a special Greenville City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon starting at 5 p.m. in the Municipal Building.