Springfield Business Journal_2020-06-22

47% 47% 6% Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau Jordan Valley Park debt service, city capital grants and debt Springfield Regional Arts Council, Springfield Sports Commission and miscellaneous debt service CVB budgets Hotel/Motel Tax Allocation $4M $3.1M Fiscal 2020 $2.7M planned from hotel/motel tax $1.9M actual hotel/motel revenue Fiscal 2021 $2.06M planned from the hotel/motel tax Charlyce Ruth views her firing as a disappointment and an opportunity. Tracy Kimberlin : Hotel occupancy is rebounding, and hotel/ motel tax revenues will be on the rise. Ousted HBA leader ready to ‘start a new chapter’ by Mike Cullinan · mcullinan@sbj.net and Geoff Pickle · gpickle@sbj.net Charlyce Ruth says the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield Board of Directors decision to remove her ear- lier this month as CEO is both a disap- pointment and a new opportunity.  The board unani- mously voted June 9 to oust her from her six-year leader- ship role with the organization. “I was a little stunned,” Ruth said of being notified of the board’s deci- sion by HBA Presi- dent Travis Miller and Vice President Ryan Green. “They just said the board had a meeting and they decided they were going in a differ- ent direction and it didn’t include me.” The day after the vote, Miller told Springfield Business Journal the orga- nization is moving “to explore new av- enues” and pursue “fresher ideas.” “We’re very thankful for all the service she gave us,” he said. “It was a hard deci- sion to do, but we’ve got to look [out] for the organization and the future.” WOMEN IN BUSINESS From leadership to mentoring, five businesswomen share their advice for success. PAGE 9 Hotel tax shortages slash city, agency funding by Kathryn Hardison · khardison@sbj.net As business activity and travel begins to resume in Springfield, the city and lo- cal agencies are still grappling with the financial impact of the coronavirus pan- demic. After hitting “rock bottom” hotel occu- pancy numbers dur- ing the spring, city officials predict hotel/motel tax collec- tions will reduce by half year-over-year. Collections of the hotel/motel tax, which is a 5% levy on gross rental re- ceipts, goes toward marketing Spring- field and city debt payments, said David Holtmann, the city’s finance director. The Springfield Convention & Visi- tors Bureau Inc. is the hardest hit agency, annually banking on nearly half of the tax monies. It’s resulting in major budget cuts. CVB President Tracy Kimberlin said about $2 million of its $3.1 million proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins HEATHER MOSLEY City of Springfield and Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau See FUNDING on page 22 July 1, will come from the hotel/mo- tel tax, down from this year’s initial budget of over $4 million. Kimberlin presented the fis- cal 2021 budget to the Springfield City Council on June 15, and it will be up for vote June 29. His projections are slightly higher than the city’s because he said the brunt of the financial impact was felt this fiscal year, and with already rising occupancy figures, the tax collections will improve moving forward. “It’s rebounding, and we’ll be building up to close to what the hotel tax used to be by next spring,” he said. “We’re not BUDGETING ON TAXES City officials anticipate hotel/motel tax revenues will reduce by half next fiscal year because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A result is budget cuts for the agencies that rely on the funding, such as the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau. Board abruptly parts ways with Charlyce Ruth See HBA on page 29 $20M Drop in year-over-year hotel sales March through May $2.00 · SBJ.NET JUNE 22-28, 2020 · VOL. 40, NO. 48