TOURISM TIFF: Bylaw changes lack full support of members
CRANBERRY TWP — Members of the Butler County's tourism bureau Thursday night approved changes in the organization's bylaws, a move not supported by some members.
Each of the tourism and convention bureau's 300 members received a packet more than a month ago detailing the proposed changes to the bylaws.
Those include the elimination of a provision that outlined how the bureau deals with the state's Sunshine Act, leading some members to believe that the tourism bureau will no longer adhere to it.
That law states that government must provide public access to its meetings in almost all situations. Governmental boards and agencies also must vote on issues in public.
As a nonprofit organization, the tourism bureau is not regulated by the Sunshine Act, and never was required to adhere to its standards, said Jack Cohen, the bureau's executive director.
Cohen said that other tourism agencies in the region don't fall under the jurisdiction of the Sunshine Act. He also maintained that his bureau always has complied with the act even though it doesn't have to.
However, that view isn't sitting well with some tourism members who say the change in the bylaws is taking away transparency in a group that received more than $1.3 million in county bed tax revenue last year.
That tax, enacted in 2002 by the county commissioners when they formed the tourism bureau, is the biggest revenue stream annually for the bureau.
John Ruch, president of the Historic Harmony group and a member of the tourism bureau, said his organization voted against the bylaw changes as did Harmony Borough Council.
He showed up at the meeting Thursday night but didn't get a chance to voice his opinion publicly since there was no public comment portion at the meeting. The voting results were announced without discussion at the end of the two-hour meeting.
“As a function of county government, one would expect there to be a great deal of transparency,” Ruch said before the meeting. “It's hard for me to understand how an organization that is serving the county and is spending county tax dollars doesn't have total transparency about what it's doing.”
Jim Hulings, president of Harmony's council, said this morning that he's “very unhappy” with the changes because they “throw the Sunshine law out the door.”
“They took away all the power from the membership and got rid of all the accountability,” he said. “(The bureau) is going the wrong way.”
However, as evidenced by the vote, far more members support the bylaw changes than opposed it.
Cranberry Township Manager Jerry Andree said he voted to support the changes.
“I don't see it as a problem,” he said. “I've known that board a long time.”
Andree added that he was aware of the reasoning behind the proposed changes and that he has been an “astute observer of the bureau and has confidence in their business procedures and governing structure.”
Melissa Melewsky, an expert on the Sunshine Act with the Pennsylvania Newsmedia Association, said Thursday that the tourism bureau should always be subject to the act because of the tax funds it receives from the county.
“I think the tax aspect of it is what works powerfully in favor of the Sunshine Act inclusion,” she said. “(The bureau) was created by law and it decides for the county how to spend that money, which is public money.”
Other changes in the bylaws include eliminating one general membership meeting per year, taking the number from four to three. Another change eliminated a provision that required a second signature on any check totaling more than $500.
The bylaw changes went into affect after 92 members voted for them, 15 voted against them and one abstained.
The votes were mailed in by members before Thursday's meeting.
