Sarnia council will consider possible changes to the accommodation tax agreement with Tourism Sarnia-Lambton (TSL) during Monday's meeting.
The financial accountability agreement regarding the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) expired in 2024.
It's recommended council either direct staff to negotiate contract amendments, or have staff explore alternatives.
Mayor Mike Bradley said he'd like to hold off on making a decision at this time.
"My preference, since TSL is going through a great change right now, would be to maybe have a one-year extension and then see how they move forward with the new executive director. I understand they're getting some new board members and new leadership," Bradley said. "Give it a year to see where they stand, and at that time, I think the new council should make an assessment whether they'd like to continue the relationship."
Adam Veen was recently named TSL interim executive director after the organization and Mark Perrin parted ways.
Commonly referred to as a "hotel tax", a MAT is a fee charged to short-term accommodation providers, such as hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts.
The city passed a MAT bylaw in early 2020 and entered into an agreement with the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association to act as the collecting agent. The funds are sent to the city, a portion of which must go to a non-profit entity for tourism purposes.
The city entered into an agreement with TSL in 2022, retroactive to 2020.
Staff reviewed alternatives to remitting the MAT to TSL in 2021, but the options were not further investigated. At that time, the options included pursuing an agreement with another eligible tourism entity, establishing a municipal service corporation, or establishing a MAT funding grant program.
Bradley said TSL's past performance has been assessed.
"I go back to [nearly] 10 years ago, we gave them a substantial amount of money to bring about tourism development projects that would be brick and mortar, that would bring people in beyond one-day destination attraction," Bradley said. "That's never unfolded."
If city council decides to extend its MAT agreement with TSL, staff are recommending some revisions, one of which is to reserve a seat on the board of directors for a city representative.
"I think it's always good to look at renewals, look at change," Bradley said. "In this case, I'd be more than willing right now with TSL going through major changes at the staffing level to give them a year and then judge them accordingly after that."
Monday's regular council meeting will begin at 1 p.m. at Sarnia City Hall.
