Our Place
The Lake Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce moves into the new world.
How much does the Lake Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce take in during a regular year?
And where does that money come from?
And where does that money go?
These questions are similar to those asked of the utility department over the years, to which no answers were ever provided. This supposed Chamber is even more independent than the utility department, and even more illegal. They collect taxes from the local public by using the ruse of having the city collect the taxes and then give the money to them. Except the city doesn’t even get the money anymore. It goes straight to the chamber. This chamber. This whatever the hell non-profit it’s supposed to be.
It is supposed to be in existence to support small business’s up and down the downtown streets of Lake Geneva. What does it really do, however, this secretive money pot of a power center for Lake Geneva’s hiding crony culture? How about eight hundred thousand ($800,000) rolling in from the resorts. How about another hundred and seventy ($175,000) from the small businesses that are not resorts. That’s just about a million bucks a year, and for what? No accountability unless the chamber wants to do a show and tell all…and they don’t.
Their director is the single highest paid person in any official position around the lake. That’s where over a hundred grand a year goes. To the man who’s never seen. He’s around, except that he’s sort of not. Oh, and a big expensive website that’s about as dead as a doornail on the Internet. Pretty, but static. Doing nothing. Going nowhere. And what about those small businesses which are hoping to be helped by this supposed marketing behemoth? Nada. As in nothing. The little guys and gals. The money is going right back to those resorts. Resorts that one day the taxpayers and residents of Lake Geneva will decide that they can do without.
The Grand Geneva, Geneva National and The Abbey? They all have one thing in common. They pay the City of Lake Geneva no property or sales taxes at all. David Lindalow is the chairman of the board of the Lake Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a good guy but can he take on this rolling behemoth of do nothing cash piles? He’s also the General Manager of the Abbey.
If he can take them on…will he?
Grandest Person in Our Place
Kevin Strickhouser is the cutting edge of Christmas enthusiasm. Kevin has been increasing his very elaborate animated Christmas light display since 2010. He now has approximately three hundred thousand lights. You can see this wonderfully gorgeous display at W5355 County Road ES North of Elkhorn at the beginning of December.
That doesn’t seem right it sounds like a bunch of good old boys are cashing in at the expense of us all. With all that money it doesn’t seem like their doing anything but lining their own pockets. I’ll volunteer to run the Chamber of Commerce for no salary. It always seems like the city government is run by very well off people that just want more money for themselves and their business buddies. I find it all very disappointing sorta of like Crook County comes is alive and well in Lake Geneva.
For full disclosure, I am a local business owner and a member of Visit Lake Geneva.
The CVB is an organization focused on one mission. Bringing visitors to the Lake Geneva region. Part of that includes promoting partner businesses and organizations (that pay for membership) who benefit from visitors spending their vacation dollars with this region. Success for the CVB means an increase of tourism dollars with our neighboring small businesses. Visit Lake Geneva is an excellent organization that has proven increasingly effective at this mission.
The tax dollars in question are almost exclusively room tax dollars collected from resorts, B&Bs, hotels, and other lodging facilities. It is common for these funds to be put to work directly with the local CVB. In fact, that was the intent of room taxes. These taxes are almost exclusively collected from visitors and not the local population, unless they’re staying in a lodging facility.
The CVB’s non-profit status is actually a 503(c)(6) — a designation specifically geared for Chambers of Commerce. Their function and mission shouldn’t be confused with an organization under a 503(c)(3).
When it comes to supporting the regional businesses that participate with the CVB, I cannot think of a group more dedicated to promoting member businesses than the team at Visit Lake Geneva. The Executive Director, Darien Schaefer, has done incredible work as an ambassador for Lake Geneva. Under his direction, the level of tourism dollars spent in Lake Geneva has significantly increased each of his three years.
Many of tourism-activities cursed by many of this publication’s circulation sustains these regional businesses and provides a significant number of jobs both directly and indirectly related to tourism.
While the CVB is promoting the region, not just the city, the collected room tax dollars from within the city are supplemented by other communities committing additional room tax dollars to Visit Lake Geneva. This is where The Abbey, Grand Geneva, The Ridge, Lake Lawn, and many other establishment can benefit from being part of this organization.
While this may appear as a shady situation, it is an example of a very successful and growing organization dedicating to improving businesses throughout our region.
You should be ashamed of yourself for spreading lies and misinformation in our community. As a business owner and member of this community I know for a fact all of the wonderful things the Chamber does for all of us. They are not funded by any money out of our own pockets. They get their funding from the state resort tax that the city actually receives and keeps some of the money they are supposed to give to the organization. Their website I believe had over 500,000 visitors this year and sent my business 1,000’s of new customers. And their President has done more for this community in 3 years then others have done in 20. It is a disgrace to all of us that you would write such misinformation. Why don’t you do something to help the community for a change. SHAME ON YOU!
The article discussed the management and disclosure of the spending of tax dollars.
Looks like posing of the questions created dialog.
That is good. Congratulations on your successes of the 1,000’s of new customers.
We are surprised that, as a business person, you did not mention it’s name.
This site is visited over 1,000,000 time per year and you could have benefited from the FREE advertisement.
Thanks again for your comment.
I agree. If we expect open and transparent government and governmental agencies, we should not only expect but require those private agencies receiving tax dollars to be just as open and transparent. It’s our money and we have the right to know how it’s being spent.
Funny how some organization do NOT feel the income received is really right from the Taxpayer’s pocket.
Many feel they are entitled!
Thank you for the comments.
I read this article through several times. Nowhere did I see anything that indicated misinformation. It does the question many have throughout the United States regarding the management of TAX dollars that flow though Chambers of Commerce.
Who is accountable and to whom regarding this cash flow of Tax Dollars?
Are business afforded the “promotions”by the Chambers based on their size? Or is equally amortized?
Visiting the website I saw featured businesses, the same that were featured several months ago. On the Cocktail category page I only saw 5 businesses recognized. How doe one get place on the website? Is it a rotating system or……
I feel some of the finest cocktails in Lake Geneva area are found at Anthony’s Steak House.
I’m just wondering if some of those businesses think their patrons use OUR infrastructure including but not limited to the workers for the city of Lake Geneva that have to clean up after all these patrons of business here, and I’m including the police and fire…yet the Chamber of Commerce now gets those room tax dollars, Thanks Walker and Republican majority, to spend lobbying against wages of the people that give service to our community, and or the workers throughout the country that come and spend their earnings here. Simple economics shows when the majority of people have the majority of the wealth, everyone lives better…unlike today.
The problem with the non-profit organizations is they can give hefty salaries to their administrations, while not having to PROVE their effectiveness and efficiencies with public tax dollars once helping defray the costs of use of the public infrastructure.
No public accountability, no public access, but use of public funds. Sounds like free market capitalism at its finest.
I think the business community should open a friendly organization made up of community members, workers and concerned citizenry to work at promoting the area, small business retention and infrastructure… that’s what our government does.
GET INVOLVED, it’s time to take back our communities from corporate capture.
You have presented a great alternative, Tanya.
Being involved with, and holding accountable, those entrusted with PUBLIC money should be a concern of all Citizens of a Locale.
It is NOT hard to do.
Organize groups to attend meetings, ask questions and publicly disclose.
That is one reason The Geneva Shore report is printed and digitized