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The staff who dine and drink to customers to promote Ocean City as a tourist destination now have a formal expense account and solid guidelines for small talk.
During a work meeting on Tuesday, city council members unanimously approved an entertainment policy that would let some officials pay for travel-related meals and other incidentals. City manager Terry McGean said voting was essentially a formality because the city didn’t have policies in place, and with the increased emphasis on promotions and meetings, those efforts became increasingly necessary.
“As we add salespeople in the convention center, whether it’s the convention center itself, special events, or sports marketing, they need to take potential customers out to dinner…and that happens a lot,” McGinn said. , we don’t really have a formal policy. What this policy does is allow that.”
Allowances are available to selected employees – Director of Tourism and Business Development, Director of Convention Center, Director of Sales, Director of Special Events, Sports Sales Manager and Conference Sales Manager.
“Only those people, based on their specific job function, should really sell the city,” McGinn said.
This policy establishes guidelines for compliance with the IRS business expense regulations and requires required documentation of expenses. It designates specified expenses as “reasonable,” such as food, tips, beverages, and transportation. Alcoholic beverages are permitted as long as their cost is included in the per-person amount set forth in the policy, which is three times the federal daily allowance rate. In Ocean City, the federal rate is $31 per person per day. The policy sets the rate at $93.
According to staff reports, the estimated cost to staff to utilize the policy is US$ 7,500 per year. The total has been included in the tourism industry’s fiscal 2023 budget.
“This is essentially about formalizing the way our salespeople really get their work done,” McGean said of the policy ahead of the council’s unanimous vote.
This story appeared in the September 2, 2022 issue of OC Today’s print edition.
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