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reallocation to be revisited every couple of years. Patterson replied, "It makes it impossi- ble to get a bond." Patterson then explained that having to reconsider the decision every two years would hamper the commission's ability to borrow money for projects. Given the potential expense of some of the facilities that have been proposed, such as a convention center or a downtown Sarasota aquarium, she continued, the commission probably would need to let the extra money accumulate in a fund that could be used to pay back a bond or loan to cover the cost of several new facilities. PARSING THE PROSPECTS Haley told the TDC members that research commissioned by Visit Sarasota County shows that for every $150,000 her office spends on marketing, the return is $4.3 million in direct visitor expenditures in the county. The total economic impact is about $8 million for the $150,000, she added. When Mayers, general manager of The Resort at Longboat Key Club, asked how Sarasota County's marketing expenditures compare to those of comparable Florida counties, Haley told him, "We are the lowest allocation toward tourism promotion within our com- petitive set." Referencing Botelho's presentation to the TDC, Patterson pointed out that the County Commission is considering options rang- ing from taking all of the marketing money allocated from one penny of the TDT to 7.5 percent. The other two options, according to Botelho's chart, are 12.5 percent and 10 per- cent of that penny. Botehlo explained that if the commissioners took the entire 17.5 percent of promotional revenue generated by that penny, that would equate to a loss of 10.4 percent of the amount of money available for promotional purposes. All the revenue generated by the fourth penny of the TDT is dedicated to marketing, accord- ing to one of his charts. In response to further questioning, Haley presented more of the Visit Sarasota County data accumulated over the past three years. According to surveys of tourists, Haley said, $117 million of the total amount they spent in the county last year was directly related to her office's marketing. "We're not trying to claim that every visi- tor is here because of our efforts," she said. The figure was linked to those who said the promotional efforts led to their visting Sarasota County. "We base that on our monthly visitor inter- cept studies," Haley added. "Just conversing with them," as Patterson put it. "Yes," Haley replied. When TDC member Paul Caragiulo, a Sarasota city commissioner, asked how many visitors are questioned, Haley told him the minimum is 300 per month. The reported accuracy of the research firm that handles those surveys is 97 percent, Haley added. Mayers continued to argue against the loss of any of the promotional funds. With more hotels under construction in Sarasota, he said, "We're going to have to go out and find more business, which means we are going to need more marketing dollars." % Sarasota News Leader June 27, 2014 Page 63