The dispute between Forsyth County Commissioner Ted Kaplan and the Tourism Development Authoity may be over for now as TDA administrator Bob McCoy has announced he will take a six-month medical leave of absence.
McCoy will continue to receove salary and benefits during the leave of absence. But does such an arrangement defeat the purpose of trying to shape up TDA’s supposedly top-heavy administration? Does Kaplan think much will change during that six-month period? What about afterwards?
It will be interesting if Kaplan does indeed withdraw his resolution to repeal the hotel occupancy tax, which funds the TDA. As it is, area hoteliers are suspicious of Kaplan’s motivations, and this latest development does nothing to alleviate those suspicions:
“This is a solution without a resolution,” said Mike Geissler, the owner of the Sundance Plaza & Hotel Suites. “This begs to be explained why this is the right solution, because something’s not adding up.
“If there are allegations of mismanagement, they need to be addressed openly so that the tourism industry has confidence that the authority and Visit Winston-Salem are operating competently.”
Deborah Bumgardner, the general manager of Courtyard by Marriott off University Parkway, said that “Kaplan has not proven anything in regards to his allegations of mismanagement.”
“He’s ruined some reputations without justification to this point, including that of Winston-Salem.”
