Forsyth County Commissioner is pitting the Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority and the Arts Council of Winston-Salem against each other, saying the tourism authority should up a give little of the $2.5 million in hotel occupancy taxes in favor of the arts council.
Funny, Kaplan’s only been on the tourism board since January, but he has some interesting insight into the tourism authority’s operations:
Kaplan said he thinks that the tourism development agency is top-heavy with staff. Cawood told commissioners that 39 percent of the agency’s budget is for salaries but said that those employees in turn devote their efforts to marketing the city and county.
After the meeting, Kaplan said that the authority was intended to provide advertising and promotion but has “gotten to be an employment agency.”
