Starke County Council Discusses Innkeeper’s Tax, CVC

The Starke County Council this week heard from the Convention and Visitors Commission as they discussed the goals of the organizations. Council President Dave Pearman explained that the council and commissioners felt that there have been a lot of unknowns with the commission, such as an unsurety toward their mission, and unsure how their funds are being handled. He said they need to ensure funds are being used correctly and not going missing, but he emphasized that both boards recognized there is a value to the organization if they can get these issues sorted out.

Jim Shilling of the Starke County Historical Society told the council that the commission just wants to promote Starke County, and he presented their tourism video explaining the history of Starke County and Knox. He went on to say that as of right now, the commission is promoting the railroad museum because of a number of things currently going on there.

The Tourism Board operates under the CVC organization, and they have been furnishing all the funds to create brochures and other items to show off the county’s best features. He said the Tourism Board is fine with the idea of the county auditor keeping the Innkeeper’s Tax that comes in and distributing it appropriately, but he stressed that Starke County needs to be promoted.