by Trish Rudder
The deadline to apply for a request for the Town of Bath’s Hotel Motel funds for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 is Tuesday, February 28.
Applications need to be completed and returned by that date, said Town of Bath Clerk, Sharron Corrick.
The hotel/motel occupancy tax helps fund organizations that promote tourism, beautification, historical or cultural efforts in the town.
Each year the town finance committee reviews the funding applications to determine how the organization/project will benefit tourism in the Town of Bath.
As dictated by law, 50 % of the lodging tax collected goes to the local tourism bureau, Travel Berkeley Springs, for tourism promotion. The other half is distributed to the local groups that are approved by the finance committee.
On the Town of Bath website under Request for Hotel Motel Funds, the Hotel Occupancy Tax code has a section in Chapter 7, Article 18 that explains what expenditures are permissible.
Under Program Description on the application, it asks the applicant to “State what the project is about, how it benefits tourism and which permissible expenditure from Chapter 7, Article 18 you feel it qualifies under.”
The request is for year 2023-24, which begins July 1, 2023 and ends June 30, 2024.
The town collected $128,874 in hotel/motel tax for the last fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022.
Laura Smith of Travel Berkeley Springs said TBS received $64,437. The town distributed the other half to Hotel/Motel grant recipients.
In the past, 16 organizations received hotel/motel funding, Corrick said.
Applications are available online at the TownofBath.org website or at Town Hall at 271 Wilkes Street.
For more information, contact Town Hall at 304-258-1102.
