Carolina Country Music Fest to get $75,000 in A-Tax funds

The Carolina Country Music Fest will receive $75,000 in accommodation tax revenue to promote its second concert series this June, but no funds have been appropriated yet for the city-based, nonprofit Oceanfront Merchants Association.

Councilman Wayne Gray proposed that council members meet with the Oceanfront Merchants Association to discuss its plans and goals before deciding how much to give the group at a special called council meeting Tuesday morning. The council agreed.

Mayor pro-tem Mike Lowder voted against the measure to give the Carolina Country Music Fest $75,000 in accommodation tax (a-tax) funds, after the city agreed last month to give the group $108,000 in in-kind services to police and clean up the event.

Lowder noted two weeks ago that groups shouldn’t be allowed to double dip in city coffers, especially after the council denied a local organization receiving a-tax money $2,800 in in-kind services for a St. Patrick’s Day event.

The Oceanfront Merchants Association, which organizes the holiday party, ended up canceling it this year.

OMA received $140,000 last year in a-tax grants to help promote tourism events throughout the year. This year, the group asked for $158,000, but Gray noted that the organization is currently without a president.

The city approved $762,000 in accommodation tax grants, leaving $135,000 left in the pot, but the council agreed to meet with OMA before deciding how much of that to give to the group.

Thirty-two groups, including three for-profit agencies, asked for $1.8 million in accommodations tax money this year to promote arts-, cultural- and tourism-related events.

The council has typically approved a-tax appropriations only for nonprofit agencies, according to city leaders, but giving to for-profit entities is not illegal under state law.

The state’s accommodations tax is collected when visitors pay to stay in area hotels and at other lodging. Under state law the tax revenue is to be used for advertising and promoting tourism-related activities that increase tourist attendance. Funds can also be used for additional city resources needed to accommodate increases in tourism, like law enforcement, highway and street maintenance and beach renourishment.

The council agreed to give the city $4,384,175 in accommodations tax money for the Fourth Avenue outfall project, beach renourishment, beach monitoring, Myrtle Beach Convention Center marketing, the international student outreach program, waterfront patrol and beach patrol.

The council agreed to make the following appropriations in a-tax grants to other agencies:

Baseball at the Beach Tournament - $40,000

Beach Ball Classic, Inc. - $50,000

Carolina Country Music Fest - $75,000

Carolina Master Chorale - $20,000

Children’s Museum of S.C. - $30,000

Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA - $50,000

Coastal Futbol Alliance - $30,000

Coastal Uncorked - $50,000

Coastal Youth Ballet - $5,000

Crown of the Carolina Foundation - $10,000

Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum - $100,000

First Presbyterian Church Concerts, Inc. - $15,000

Kaaba Temple - $10,000

Long Bay Symphony - $50,000

Mingo Bay Classic Baseball Tournament - $15,000

Myrtle Beach Film Festival - $10,000

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday - $40,000

Myrtle Beach Pelicans - $5,000

Native Sons Salt Games - $10,000

North South Game Committee, Inc. - $20,000

Palmetto Event Production, Inc. - $20,000

Palmetto Partners - $20,000

Palmetto Studios Arts Alliance - $25,000

South Atlantic Shrine Association - $40,000

Sons of Italy - $7,000

Waccamaw Arts & Crafts Guild - $15,000

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Carolina Country Music Fest to get $75,000 in A-Tax funds."