LOCK HAVEN — In a 2-1 vote, the Clinton County Board of Commissioners approved a change in its Hotel Tax Funding ordinance which names the Clinton County Economic Partnership as the recipient of the funds annually.

The decision was made after the board heard from its solicitor, Justin Houser, at its work session Monday, who described the designation of the Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) as the recipient of the funding as an oversight in both its ordinances in 2016 and 2022.

The updates come after an audit of the Hotel Tax Funding by the Clinton County Auditors raised flags about the funding being funneled to the CCEP and not the TPA as was done in years past.

According to Houser on Monday, the partnership was designated as the county’s tourism promotion agency in 1995, prior to the creation of the Hotel Tax, Act 18. Requests for further information about this decision from Houser by The Express were not answered as of press time Thursday.

At the time, in 1995, this was to align with the Tourist Promotion Law of 1961, Houser said.

He said in 1978, a tourist promotion agency was created to collect funds from that law and later in 1995, the partnership was designated as the TPA under the law.

“Then the Hotel Tax Law was first placed in the early 2000s and it sort of grandfathered in and said if you have a recognized Tourist Promotion Agency that agency continues,” he said.

At Thursday’s voting session, the ordinance change was approved in a 2-1 vote through a motion by Commissioner Jeff Snyder and seconded, in a rare change of pace, by Chair Jim Russo. Russo currently serves on the CCEP’s board of directors as the commissioner representative.

Commissioner Angela Harding voted against the measure.

Following the vote, Harding offered her reasoning behind voting no for the change.

Harding said she respects both the work the auditors put into their oversight of finances and the solicitor for his work and research into the matter.

However, she said she felt more consideration should have been taken in offering the TPA the chance to continue being an independent entity. This, she said, was based on her own research and speaking with individuals involved in the CCEP and TPA in the last 10 to 15 years.

“To say that it is a very complex issue does not fully describe the rabbit hole I found myself in,” she said.

Harding noted her research confirmed Houser’s discovery that the board of commissioners, in 1995, designated the CCEP as the official tourist promotion agency.

It also noted the TPA, a non-profit, has been considered as such since 1998 and only in June 2025 has its status expired. She further noted the TPA had its own EIN number for at least the last 10 years and the county issued the Hotel Tax to the organization from 2016 if not longer.

Harding touched on the passing of ordinances in 2016 and 2022 which designated the TPA as the recipient of the funding, noting it was made by direction of then-Solicitor Larry Coploff.

“The ordinance passed in 2016 and again in 2022 and was done so at the direction of our solicitor. The historic precedence was unknown or not taken into consideration,” she said.

“The reason that I did not vote yes today is not because I fear improper use of funds or nefarious action. It is because I do not want to see an independent organization known as the Tourist Promotion Agency cease to exist,” she continued. “It is my personal opinion that we, as the county, should have given consideration to exploring the option of maintaining the TPA as an independent organization and asking the municipalities to pass an ordinance reflecting such.”

Neither Russo or Snyder offered comments regarding the passage of the change.

According to county auditors, this change will see their work shift to auditing the CCEP, as it will now be collecting and disbursing a tax.

“The auditors should have access to audit any organization that collects or disburses a tax that the county commissioners enact,” Auditor Michelle Crowell told The Express.

Jacqui Anastos told The Express she has been conducting an audit monthly since the CCEP stated it received the funds.

In terms of the TPA board’s fate, members of the board said that will be in the hands of the CCEP, who will communicate with the board.

“The CCEP has been asked to come back to the county with a plan moving forward and that meeting is being scheduled,” Harding told The Express.

Snyder said any questions regarding how the CCEP will manage the Hotel Tax funding would need to be directed to the CCEP.

Other updates to the ordinance include allowing the county to designate days for hotels and rentals to submit their tax monthly and reiterating what the Hotel Tax may be used for.

At the work session, Houser said the previous ordinance designated the 15th of each month as the collection date for the tax, but noted that doesn’t work for every business.

“They still have to pay their tax and report it, but we can be a little flexible as to the date in the month when they pay so it matches with their fiscal schedule,” he said.

As for the Hotel Tax funding designation, Houser, on Monday, said it more closely follows and clarifies what the funding may be used for based on Act 18.

Act 18, established by the Commonwealth, lays out guidelines which tourism agencies must follow to receive Hotel Tax funding.

According to Act 18, revenues from the special fund — which is collected by the county and distributed to the TPA — must be used by the county’s recognized promotion agency and can only be used for the following purposes:

— Marketing the area served by the agency as a leisure travel destination.

— Marketing the area served by the agency as a business, convention or meeting travel destination.

— Using all appropriate marketing tools to accomplish these purposes, including, but not limited to, advertising, publicity, publications, direct marketing, sales, technology and participation in industry trade shows that attract tourists or travelers to the area served by the agency.

— Programs, expenditures or grants that are directly and substantially related to tourism or a business, convention or meeting travel destination within the county, augment and do not compete with private sector tourism or travel efforts and improve and expand the county as a destination market as deemed necessary by the recognized tourist promotion agency. The following shall apply to grants awarded under this paragraph: Grants require a cash or in-kind local match of at least 25 percent; Grants may not be used for signage that promotes a specific private entity on the situs of that entity, except where the signage also carries the logo of a recognized tourist promotion agency.

— Any other tourism or travel marketing or promotion program, expenditure or project that does not compete with private sector tourism or travel efforts as deemed necessary by the recognized tourist promotion agency.