Pinellas County Tourist Development Council Announces 7 Vacancies

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — Applications are now being accepted through Sept. 16, 2020, for appointments to the Tourist Development Council (TDC). The TDC is an advisory council composed of 12 members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). The TDC makes recommendations to the BCC as to the effective use and expenditures of tourist development tax revenues.

There are currently seven positions open for TDC appointments. Three of these appointments must be from the elected officials category – one from the City of St. Petersburg, one from the City of Clearwater and one from among the recommendations provided by the Barrier Islands Government Council (BIG-C), all of whom will be appointed by the BCC.

Of the remaining four openings, at least one appointment must be from the Tourism-Related Category and at least two must be from the Hotel/Motel Category. Another appointment will be from either the Tourism Related or Hotel/Motel categories, dependent on the number of BCC appointments from the respective aforementioned categories. These terms will begin on Nov. 1, 2020 and expire on Oct. 31, 2024.

The Commission Chair of the BCC or any other County Commissioner designated by the chair serves as the Chair of the Council. Four members of the council are to be elected municipal officials, one of whom is appointed from the most populous municipality in Pinellas County, one of whom is appointed from the municipality in which the greatest percentage of tourist development tax revenue is generated in Pinellas County, one of whom is appointed from among the cities of Belleair Beach, Belleair Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, St. Pete Beach, and Treasure Island, and one of whom is from a city in Pinellas County that is not specifically named in this section. Seven members of the council are persons who are involved in the tourist industry and who have demonstrated an interest in tourist development, of which not less than three, nor more than four members, are owners or operators of motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist accommodations in the County and subject to the bed tax. All members of the council shall be electors of the county. The members of the council serve four-year staggered terms. All members of the TDC must be registered to vote in Pinellas County.

Mandatory applications can be found at www.pinellascounty.org/boards and must be received no later than 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020.

For questions regarding the Tourist Development Council please contact Steve Hayes at (727) 464-7213 or send an email to steve@VisitSPC.com.

For questions or concerns about completing the application, please contact Pinellas County Business Technology Services at (727) 453-4357 or by emailing BTSOC@pinellascounty.org.

The Board of County Commissioners will review all applications and make appointment decisions at a future Board Meeting.

This press release was produced by the Pinellas County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.