Springfield CVB avoids budget scare

The Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau’s marketing funds were on the chopping block, but a May 9 agreement among state budget committee members appears to have saved the day.

CVB president and CEO Tracy Kimberlin said if legislators accepted the Senate Appropriation Committee’s recommendation to slash the state tourism budget by more than $3 million, the CVB would have lost roughly three-fourths of its leisure-marketing budget, stifling efforts to market the city to regional “feeder” markets such as Wichita, Kan., and Des Moines, Iowa.

Kimberlin said the CVB lobbied state legislators for support in recent weeks, and his staff was mobilized to educate more than 200 individuals and groups about the role the CVB plays in supporting the area economy as part of National Travel & Tourism week May 5–13. Kimberlin said dozens of individuals reached out to members of the conference committee tasked with resolving discrepancies in the budgets passed by the House and Senate.

Rep. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, and Sara Lampe, D-Springfield, were two local representatives on the budget conference committee working to save the state cost-sharing program administered by the Division of Tourism.

Hough said he spoke directly to conference committee chairman Rep. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City. “I sat down with him and I said, ‘Look, if you are putting together a priority list of things we really need to fund … this is one of my top three priorities.’ He said, ‘What do you have to have back?’ And to be realistic about everyone pulling their own weight in a tough budget year, I said I would be OK if we got $3 million back,” Hough said.

On May 9, a House and Senate conference committee decided to reduce the Division of Tourism’s fiscal 2013 budget by only $400,000, effectively saving the matching-fund program that supports destination-marketing groups such as the Springfield CVB and the Branson Lakes Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, according to Kimberlin.

The issue at hand
House representatives passed a proposed budget that set aside $13.2 million for the Division of Tourism, which is administered by the Department of Economic Development.

However, the Senate’s version of the state budget was passed with roughly $10 million set aside for Tourism. At risk, according to Kimberlin, was the roughly $3 million Cooperative Marketing Program, which is designed to work together with private funds to increase the marketing power of convention and visitor groups.

Kimberlin said $450,000 of his organization’s $2.8 million fiscal 2012 budget came from the program, and another $300,000 were matching funds from private companies, such as Bass Pro Shops and the Springfield Cardinals, that partnered with the CVB to promote the city throughout the region. The total leisure-marketing budget for the CVB is around $1 million, Kimberlin said.

“The goal of the program was to pool state funds with local funds to generate more tourism promotion for the state. The whole idea of the program is to grow travel revenue in the state thereby growing sales tax revenue generated by travelers into the state. By cutting the Cooperative Marketing Program, in effect, what also happens is that the funds spent by the local destination marketing organization matching those state funds are going to go away,” Kimberlin said prior to the May 9 budget agreement.

Citing legislation that applies a funding formula to determine the state Tourism budget, division spokeswoman Sarah Luebbert said the fiscal 2013 budget should be around $32.7 million. However, with budget pressures in recent years, Gov. Jay Nixon asked lawmakers to pass a $13.4 million budget for next year, equal to the group’s fiscal 2012 budget.

“The Division of Tourism made it pretty clear that $13.4 million was about as low as it could go and still keep the Cooperative Marketing Program intact,” Kimberlin said.

Luebbert said final budget decisions would be made by the 10-member Missouri Tourism Commission after the governor finalizes the state budget. On May 10, the day before the constitutional deadline, lawmakers sent a $24 billion balanced state budget to Nixon’s office.

“While I still need to review every line of the budget passed today, I appreciate the efforts of the General Assembly to get a budget to me within the constitutional deadline,” Nixon said in a statement. “As I give this budget a very thorough review over the next several weeks, Missourians should know that we’ll continue to live within our means and hold the line on taxes, while doing everything possible to help businesses grow and create jobs.”

Kimberlin celebrated the May 9 Tourism news by distributing an e-letter thanking constituents for their support.

“We want to thank each of you for your efforts in sending letters and making phone calls in support of Missouri Division of Tourism funding and overall tourism support. We can’t think of better news to receive this week during National Travel & Tourism Week,” Kimberlin wrote in the letter.

MO Marketing
Hough said establishing a funding mechanism for state-run nursing homes for veterans via casino entrance fees was key to saving roughly $30 million on more than a handful of budget bills facing steep cuts.

Following news of the budget agreement, Kimberlin credited the work of Hough and Lampe to spare the Division of Tourism cuts. He said the funds would go toward an integrated marketing plan that would utilize online, television, radio and print campaigns in six to eight Midwest feeder cities.

Without the Cooperative Marketing Program funds, Kimberlin said only a small print campaign and online advertising would have remained in tact.

Calls to Ross Summers, president and CEO of the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and CVB, were not returned by press time.

Kimberlin said with the Division of Tourism’s budget largely restored, he anticipates the program would not be significantly impacted, though as of May 10, he hadn’t spoken with Division of Tourism officials.

“I’d be surprised,” Kimberlin said.