§ 1-7-48. Tourist development council.

(a)

There is hereby established, pursuant to the provisions of F.S. section 125.0104, an advisory council to be known as the "Charlotte County Tourist Development Council." The council shall be composed of eight (8) members who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the board of county commissioners; the ninth member, the chairman of the board of county commissioners or such other member of the board of county commissioners as the chairman may designate, shall serve as chairman, ex-officio, of the council. Two (2) members of the council shall be elected municipal officials, one of whom shall be from the most populous municipality in the county. Three (3) members of the council shall be owners or operators of motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks or other tourist accommodations located in the county and subject to the tax levied in this article. Three (3) members of the council shall be persons who are involved in the tourist industry and who have demonstrated an interest in tourist development but who are not owners or operators of motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or other tourist accommodations in the county. All members of the council shall be electors of the county; except that the council may include no more than two (2) members who meet all of the following conditions: (1) are not electors of Charlotte County; (2) reside in a county adjacent to Charlotte County; and (3) own a business related to the tourism industry, have demonstrated an interest tourist development in Charlotte County, and have paid the local business tax in Charlotte County. The members of the council shall serve for staggered terms of four (4) years.

(b)

The council established in this section shall, from time to time, make recommendations to the board of county commissioners for the effective operation of the special projects or for uses of the tourist development tax revenue raised by the tax levied in this article, and such council shall perform such other duties or functions as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution.

(c)

The council established in this section shall continuously review all expenditures of revenue raised by the tax levied in this article, shall receive, at least quarterly, expenditure reports from the board of county commissioners or its designee and shall report to the board of county commissioners and to the state department of revenue all expenditures of said revenue believed to be unauthorized by the provisions of this article. The board of county commissioners, upon receiving notification of expenditures believed to be unauthorized by the council, shall review the council's findings and take such administrative or judicial action as it sees fit, to ensure compliance with this article and the provisions of F.S. § 125.0104.

(Ord. No. 84-04, § 3, 3-12-84; Ord. No. 92-24, § 1, 3-21-92; Ord. No. 96-38, § 2, 10-1-96; Ord. No. 97-073, § 7, 8-19-97; Ord. No. 2017-007, § 1, 2-28-17; Ord. No. 2018-040, § 1, 9-25-18)

Cross reference

Administration, Ch. 1-2.