Without city funding, local tourism bureau could close

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Kendall Downing

Story Created: Wed Jun 6, 2012 6:07 PM

Story Updated: Wed Jun 6, 2012 7:45 PM

CARBONDALE, Ill. — More than $300,000: that's how much money Carbondale's City Council yanked from its Convention & Tourism Bureau last month, essentially stripping the agency of a majority of its funding.

The bureau's embattled director and two full-time staff members lost their jobs as a result of the decision.

Now the agency's board is trying to save it in the eleventh hour.

Interim Director Richard Morris says without any new revenue the agency is on the brink of collapse. That's why he is hopeful the city and the bureau can come to a new agreement.

"Hope for the future is that the city and the board would be able to negotiate on some terms and then see," said Morris.

But that hope is dwindling by the day. With three employees out the door and city money dead in its tracks, he said everything the agency has planned for the next fiscal year is in jeopardy.

"You just can't have these commitments and let those flow away because everybody loses," he said.

The city wants to move in a new direction and cut ties for good with its longtime partner. It's an outcome Morris said would be destructive.

"That would be unfortunate, and it would be disappointing," said Morris.

But the clock is ticking. Without any extra money, the agency will close at the end of the month.

The bureau is one of only four state-certified tourism agencies in southern Illinois. The certification opens up the possibility for grants and other monies.

If the agency closes, the city loses those options.