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;
(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.