LG City Council Awards Tourism Grant Funds

The La Grange City Council awarded two requests for tourism funding at their meeting on Monday, Jan. 8.

The La Grange Tourism Committee had considered three requests that night:

• The La Grange Chamber of Commerce requested $5,000 for marketing their 2024 Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony, to be held on Jan. 27;

• The Bugle Boy Foundation requested $10,000 to support the 90 shows they put on every year, which brings approximately 4,000 visitors to La Grange every year;

• The Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center (TCHCC) requested $5,000 for advertising the Texas Blacksmith Conference and Texas Antique Gas Engine Reunion to be held Jan. 23-27. “We did not approve any funds for the La Grange Area Chamber of Commerce because we had some questions about heads in beds,” said Councilman Ken Taylor, who serves on the committee.

The City’s Tourism Fund comes from hotel occupancy taxes collected within the city. State law stipulates that hotel occupancy taxes may only be spent on certain types of activities that benefit the tourism industry. In general, those activities must be the kind that encourage visitors to stay overnight in the local lodging establishments – which city leaders sometimes reference as “heads in beds.”

The Committee recommended awarding the $10,000 to The Bugle Boy and $4,000 to the TCHCC.

City Council voted unanimously to approve funding in those amounts.