The Accommodations Tax Committee is an advisory committee that advises City Council on the expenditure of local accommodations tax funds for the purpose of promoting tourism, the arts and cultural affairs in the community.
The advisory committee consists of seven (7) members, with a majority being selected from the hospitality industry of the City of Isle of Palms. At least two (2) of the members must be from the lodging industry and one (1) member shall represent the cultural organizations. Appointed members shall serve terms of three (3) years. Residents interested in serving on this Committee may submit an online application.
ATAX Grant Applications
The City of Isle of Palms is accepting applications from organizations wishing to receive grants from the 2% state accommodations tax fund for FY26. The fund has $50,000 available for eligible applications.
South Carolina law allows for a 2% tax levy on the rental of all transient accommodations to help provide financial support to promote tourism and fund tourism-related activities in municipalities and counties within the state. Individuals staying overnight in hotels, motels, inns, and vacation rentals pay 2% in addition to the statewide sales tax and any local sales and use tax applied to their lodging cost. State law establishes that funds from accommodations taxes must be used to attract and provide for tourists and must be spent on tourism-related expenditures.
Application Deadline: The ATAX grant application must be submitted electronically to Nicole DeNeane, City Clerk, at nicoled@iop.net no later than 5:00 p.m., Friday, February 14, 2025.
Application: ATAX Grant Application is available here.
Eligible Projects: Eligible projects include advertising and promotion, promotion of arts and cultural events for the attraction of tourists, construction, maintenance, and operations of facilities for civic and cultural events, public facilities, and visitor centers.
Application Process: Applicants must review the application approved by the local ATAX Committee, available here: Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee | City of Isle of Palms, SC (iop.net). Applications received by the deadline will be reviewed by staff for compliance with state law and these guidelines to determine eligibility. The applicants passing the initial review will be asked to make a presentation to the ATAX Committee.
Applicant Presentations: The presentations are scheduled for 11:00 a.m., March 12, 2025.
The ATAX Committee will make grant award recommendations to City Council.
ATAX Committee approved guidelines for eligibility.
Members
- Margaret Miller (At-large) - Term Expires 12/31/2025
- Barb Bergwerf (Arts & Culture) - Term Expires 12/31/2025
- Rod Turnage (Lodging) - Term Expires 12/31/2026
- Park Williams (At-Large) - Chair, Term Expires 12/31/2026
- Rebecca Kovalich (Lodging)- Term Expires 12/31/2026
- Mike Boykin (Hospitality)- Term Expires 12/31/2025
- Chrissy Lorenz (Hospitality)- Term Expires 12/31/2025