Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/344348
and improvements at the BMX track in Sarasota would mean more events and more people filling hotel rooms. "[Those actions] will benefit our restaurants; they will benefit our hotels." Commissioner Carolyn Mason said she had struggled between supporting the 10-per- cent and 7.5-percent proposals. "But I think 7.5 percent is a good place to start. Future commissions will have to keep an eye on it." When Robinson began to make a motion on the funding shift, Patterson requested that the board vote on the stadium funds separately. "I think it's a reasonable move," she added of the latter accounting change, "as the dollars keep coming in higher." After the unanimous vote on that change, Robinson made the motion for the shift of TDT revenue to the attractions fund. Patterson said, "I'm sort of torn on this because I think it's a reasonable compromise." Nonetheless, she continued, "I think it's sort of a slippery slope, which is kind of illustrated by every- body saying it's a start." She reminded her colleagues that when the commission approved a hike in the TDT from 4.5 cents to 5 cents, which went into effect on May 1, 2011, the board members empha- sized that meant more money would be going toward marketing the county. "The way I really feel is we probably shouldn't [shift any of the promotional funds]," she added, "and I'm going to vote to my heart." % A chart explains how promotional funds were allocated from the five pennies of the Tourist Development Tax prior to the July 9 County Commission vote. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 41