Council to vote on CVB’s $2.9M budget

The CVB’s board of directors approved the budget May 18, and council is expected to vote on it June 26.

The budget allots about $1.5 million for direct marketing – including $1.3 million on advertising – and the remainder will go to regular operating expenses, said Tracy Kimberlin, CVB executive director.

Revenue for the upcoming fiscal year will include $752,050 in private funding, $1.5 million from the city’s lodging tax and $460,000 from the Missouri Division of Tourism’s Cooperative Marketing Program.

The CVB board in May also approved a revision to its current budget that adds $101,200 for the bureau’s We’ll Buy Your Gas campaign through the end of June. That program, which offers $40 Visa gift cards to travelers who visit Springfield, has done better than expected, Kimberlin said; the CVB so far has given out about 300 cards.

Council approved that budget revision June 12.