For the first time since Heather Shirk became the executive director of the Montgomery County Visitors and Convention Bureau in 2015, she now believes there is momentum for capturing more revenue from tourists.
On Tuesday, the Montgomery County Council directed county attorney Dan Taylor to draw up an ordinance increasing what visitors pay as an innkeepers tax from 3% to 5%.
“The CVC and the Visitors Bureau have a really good relationship now and we are working closely together,” Shirk said. “The commission supports what we are doing.”
Shirk pointed to the 2025 Motocross of Nations event, which brought up to 25,000 visitors to the county from all corners of the planet.
“The Motocross of Nations showed that we can host big events when everyone works together,” Shirk said. “An increase in our budget will allow us to do better marketing and possibly allow for more events. The increase gives us the possibility of doing more in the future.”
Montgomery County Commissioner Jake Bohlander, who also is the commission’s representative on the Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Commission, presented the tax increase to the council. The additional funds will increase the MCVB budget and allow CVC to have additional funds to be used in attracting visitors to the county.
Every year, the MCVB and CVC work together for the same purposes of attracting visitors. The CVC funds the MCVB budget as part of their duties.
Bohlander cited that the increase will help the county be more proactive in marketing and add more events under the direction of Shirk and the MCVB.
Bohlander also reminded the council that this is the fourth time they have been asked to consider the tax increase since he has been involved with county government in the last six years.
He said of the state’s 92 counties, Montgomery County and Fulton County charge 3%. Most counties in Indiana charge 5%, while some counties in the state charge as much as 10%.
The tax is collected by hotels, cabins and Airbnb facilities. County residents do not have to pay an innkeeper tax within the county.
It is estimated the 2% increase will raise an additional $225,000 to be used within the county. The increase would take affect January 2027.
The council agreed to instruct Taylor to present an ordinance to raise the tax at the next council meeting slated for 9 a.m. Sept. 8.
The council heard a presentation on the first half of 2026 county finances. It was disclosed the county is close to projections in expenses but is slightly ahead of revenues.
The council voted to transfer $1 million from the county general budget to the Rainy Day Fund as recommended by financial adviser Jeff Peters in July’s council meeting.
The council was reminded that department heads and elected officials will be presenting their 2027 budgets at meetings held at 4 p.m. Aug. 24 and Aug. 25. The meetings can be seen on the Montgomery County, Indiana Government YouTube channel.
County administrator Tom Klein reminded the council that all financial officials from county towns and Crawfordsville have been invited to the Municipal Unit Strategic Taskforce meeting to be held at 2 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Montgomery County Government Center.
