No Budget Cuts for 3 Richland County Tourist Attractions

Three major tourist attractions in Richland County will receive full funding for the next fiscal year. 

Richland County Council met Wednesday for a four-hour session addressing revenue from a local hospitality tax, which is a 2 percent tax charged on prepared foods to support projects that attract tourists to the area.

The budgets for three agencies — the Columbia Museum of Art, the Historic Columbia Foundation and EdVenture Children’s Museum — were in danger of being cut under if a proposed plan by chairman Kelvin Washington to use $44 million for six unspecified projects in unincorporated areas of the county.

After much lively discussion, council approved $702,372 for the Columbia Museum of Art; $270,143 for the Historic Columbia Foundation; and $108,057 for EdVenture. Each are getting a 2 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

EdVenture did make a $620,000 request for capital improvements but it was not approved.

The $44 million proposal created a conflict between those in the city and ones in the unincorporated areas of the county. It also caused those organizations to spring to action, calling on their supporters to contact council members to discourage them from reducing their funding.

Councilman Norman Jackson said he received 392 emails and more than 80 phone calls concerning the hospitality tax. 

Jackson said he had "nothing against supporting the city," but wanted fairness when it came to the distribution of funds across the county. 

"The city uses all their money (hospitality tax revenue) for themselves only," Jackson said. "The city does not give a dime to the unincorporated areas."

"The incorporated area gives money to the city."

Councilman Paul Livingston disapproved of Washington's proposal, saying the lack of attractions in unincorporated areas was the council's own fault.

"We have the money to do it," Livingston said. "We have the resources to do it, but for a lot of reasons we didn't do it."

"Let's just step up and take responsibility."

Council did agree to defer the $44 million plan and create a committee of five people, which was proposed by Councilman Jim Manning, to recommend projects that would be funded. The committee also is tasked with reviewing equity and allowances related to ordinance agencies such as the Columbia Museum of Art and constructing a "working definition" for tourism, among other duties.

Other funding that was approved included $300,000 for the Township Auditorium, $100,000 for the Renaissance Foundation and $125,000 for two years (total $250,000) for the Nickelodeon Theatre.