TDC partially meets Poynter’s bed tax request with $300,000 lifeguard funding

The Nassau County Tourist Development Council (TDC) partially fulfilled City Commissioner Tim Poynter’s request that bed tax dollars generated in Fernandina Beach be reinvested in the city, approving $300,000 in tourist development tax revenue to fund beach lifeguards beginning in 2026 — while making clear that any additional funding for city projects would have to follow a state-mandated, project-by-project approval process.

TDC Chair and County Commissioner John Martin said the lifeguard funding fits squarely within what state law allows but cautioned that other requests — particularly for infrastructure — would require separate proposals, legal review, and formal approval through the county’s budget process.

“This is something that meets the legal expenditure of tourist development tax dollars,” Martin said. “When you start talking about other things inside the city, then it becomes a budgetary thing, and it has to go through the same process everything else goes through”

The vote followed discussion sparked in August, when Poynter formally asked the council to recommend that all bed tax revenue collected within Fernandina Beach remain in the city to help offset tourism-related costs. While the council declined to adopt a blanket formula tying revenue to the city, members agreed that funding lifeguard services qualified as a direct tourism expense under state law and could be addressed immediately through changes to the county’s tourist development tax ordinance.

At the December meeting, council members approved a restructuring of the county’s Tourist Development Tax ordinance that eliminates the long-standing “trade” bucket and reallocates those funds into updated categories for marketing, arts and culture, leisure and recreation, and administration. As part of that reallocation, $500,000 was shifted into the beach and leisure category, creating room to fund lifeguard services — with $300,000 designated specifically for Fernandina Beach through an interlocal agreement still to be finalized with the city.

Assistant County Manager Marshall Eyerman told the council that the change allows the county to redirect underused trade-show funds into services that directly benefit visitors and residents alike.

Marshall Eyerman

“What we are looking at here is to really kind of leverage the dollars that are coming through and see if we can provide a funding source for some of the lifeguards,” Eyerman said. “That would allow us an opportunity to fund some of the lifeguard services to make sure that we continue to have a safe beach for the tourists to attend there.”

Eyerman emphasized that the restructuring would not reduce funding for the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau or existing marketing, grant, sponsorship, or event programs. Instead, it modernizes an ordinance that has largely remained unchanged since 1988, despite significant revisions to state law governing how tourist development taxes may be spent.

The council’s action also resolved — and rendered unnecessary — Poynter’s earlier motion calling for all bed tax collected within Fernandina Beach to be spent exclusively inside the city. After county staff completed legal and financial analysis, Poynter formally withdrew that motion prior to the final vote on the ordinance changes.

TDC Chair Martin said the lifeguard funding proposal struck a balance between legal constraints and the city’s long-standing concerns about bearing the costs of tourism.

“I am all in favor of any legal expenditure of tourist development tax dollars that can help the city out,” Martin said. “This is something that protects tourists but protects our residents as we use the beach."

Under the new arrangement, the $300,000 in bed tax funding would offset the city’s existing lifeguard costs, freeing up city general fund dollars for other municipal needs.

“That’s money that the city is probably paying for now that they can now spend elsewhere,” Poynter said during the discussion.

Eyerman added that the move also provides a clear example of how bed tax revenues are reinvested locally, a frequent point of confusion among residents.

“One of the questions that we get is where are tourism taxes being reinvested into the public,” he said. “This is something that protects tourists but protects our residents as well.”

The ordinance update also clarifies how tourism dollars are distributed geographically. County analysis shows that about 43% of bed tax revenue is collected within Fernandina Beach, while 57% is collected outside city limits. Despite that split, Eyerman said roughly $5.9 million in tourist development spending supports activities and services within the city, including festivals, beach cleaning, restroom maintenance, and major events such as Dickens on Centre and the Shrimp Drop.

Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau President Gil Langley told the council the bureau supports the restructuring and lifeguard funding, calling it the culmination of nearly two and a half years of discussion.

“The goal was to simplify and clarify what was laid out in 1988,” Langley said, adding that the changes do not reduce funding for destination marketing efforts.

Before the lifeguard funding can take effect, the revised ordinance must still be approved by the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners, and county staff must negotiate an interlocal agreement with the City of Fernandina Beach specifying how the funds will be transferred and used. Eyerman said those steps are expected to move forward early next year.

For Poynter, the outcome represents a concrete response to concerns he raised over the summer about the city’s ability to absorb the costs of hosting nearly a million overnight visitors each year.