[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Board of Stephenson County 2-13-1990 by Ord. No. 90-01-151 (Ch. 2, Art. V, of the 1977 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Stephenson County Convention and Visitors Bureau shall be governed by a Board of Directors to be composed of nine members. The Mayor of the City of Freeport is authorized to appoint, subject to City Council approval, five members of the Board of Directors of the Bureau, to include one Alderman, two at-large members, one member from the local lodging industry and one member from the local chambers of commerce. The Chairman of the County Board is hereby authorized to appoint, subject to County Board approval, four members of the Board of Directors, to include one County Board member, two at-large members, and one member from the local lodging industry. If there exists a hotel or motel located in an incorporated area of the County, other than the City of Freeport, then one of the County Board Chairman's at-large appointments must be a domiciliary of that incorporated community. The Board of Directors shall elect its Chairman from among its members.
All four of the County Board Chairman's appointees shall be domiciliaries of the County. The Chairman shall appoint the representative of the local lodging industry from a list of three persons submitted by the County Lodging Facilities Committee, as further described above. The Chairman may remove his or her County Board member or at-large appointee at any time prior to the expiration of the appointee's term of office on the Bureau's Board of Directors with or without cause. The Chairman shall remove his or her appointee from the local lodging industry prior to the expiration of the appointee's term of office on the Bureau's Board of Directors only for good cause shown after a public hearing. The Chairman's decision to remove any of his or her appointees shall not be subject to County Board approval or review.
The duties of the Board members shall be established by an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the County, except as provided herein. The duties shall include, but are not limited to, the requirement to supervise the operation of the tourism promotion programs, the recommendation and preparation of an annual budget and a written annual report to be presented to both the City Council and the County Board no later than January 31 of each year.
At its initial meeting, the members of the Board of Directors shall draw lots in order to assign each member to a one-, two-, or three-year term of office on the Board of Directors. Three members of the Board of Directors shall be assigned to each of the terms of office. Except as noted below for vacancies occurring during the term of office, all new appointments or reappointments after the initial appointments creating the Board of Directors shall be for a full term of three years only. An appointment made to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors shall be made in the same manner as the original appointment. A person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring during a term of office shall serve only for the unexpired portion of that term of office.
Upon presentation of a proper voucher, the treasurer shall transfer monies from the Tourism Promotion Board to the County Convention and Visitors Bureau to reimburse the Bureau for funds expended to promote tourism in the County, including, but not limited to:
A. 
Publishing promotional material such as:
(1) 
A general Countywide brochure;
(2) 
A County calendar of events;
(3) 
A lodging guide;
(4) 
A restaurant guide; and
(5) 
An antique and arts guide.
B. 
Preparing an advertising campaign promoting Stephenson County.
C. 
Exploring signage needs, particularly in conjunction with the Bypass.
D. 
Participating in the Northwest Passage Tourism Corridor Council and other regional tourism organizations.
E. 
Working with group tour operators to encourage group tour business in the County.
F. 
Establishing office facilities and hiring staff to direct the promotional efforts.