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Tourism Board Budget Public Hearing Meeting

Town of Hillsborough · Tourism Board
Monday, June 1, 2026 at 5:30 pm

Public hearing Budget and appropriationsHistoric preservationSchools and education

Agenda document Full packet Minutes Meeting page Watch Meeting recap

What's on this agenda

The Hillsborough Tourism Board held a public hearing on its draft FY27 budget, along with updates on contract partner budgets from the Hillsborough Alliance and Chamber (HAC) and the tourism Alliance. The board also heard a presentation on the scope of work for the Burwell School, a historic site in town, and reviewed the FY26 food and beverage tax report to date, which funds the board's tourism work.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Hillsborough's Tourism Board recommended its fiscal 2027 budget to the town board on 1 June after a public hearing, 7-0. It funds the Burwell School Historic Site at $85,000, the Hillsborough Arts Council at $72,800, the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough's visitor center at $272,984 and a $14,000 website update shared with the Tourism Development Authority. The board added $7,800 for the Arts Council after it lost $2,800 in town funding and a $5,000 Orange County arts grant. Staff said the board's fund balance can cover the roughly $54,000 drawn from it.

Matt Hughes, chair of the Historic Hillsborough Commission, made the case for restoring Burwell's contract to $85,000 after a $15,000 cut last year. He said the site has recovered from a 2019-2020 embezzlement and faces $35,000 to $40,000 in painting and window repairs. He also urged three-year contracts and a fund balance policy, noting a net position of about $517,000 against a $539,000 budget. The Alliance kept its Solstice Lantern Walk shuttle, which carried fewer than 250 riders in its first year, after members opposed cutting it.

How the votes went

Agenda and the April 6 and May 4 minutes, 7-0. Opening the budget hearing, 7-0. Adding $7,800 to the Arts Council allocation, 7-0 (Czechlewski moved, Cabbage seconded). Confirming the Alliance's $272,984 including the shuttle, 6-0 with Kimball abstaining because she sits on the Alliance board. Recommending the amended FY27 budget, 7-0.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Town of Hillsborough's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (7)

Procedural · 3Minutes approval · 1Presentation · 1Public hearing · 1Staff or committee report · 1
  1. 1 Call to order and confirmation of quorum
    Procedural
  2. 2 Agenda changes and approval
    Procedural
    Approved 7-0
  3. 3 Minutes
    Minutes approval
    April 6 and May 4 minutes approved, 7-0 each
  4. 4.A Burwell School Scope of Work Response Presentation
    Presentation Historic preservationSchools and education
    A presentation on the scope of work for the Burwell School, a historic Hillsborough site.
  5. 4.B Public Hearing for the draft FY27 budget
    Public hearing Budget and appropriations
    A public hearing on the Tourism Board's draft FY27 budget, including budget updates from contract partners HAC and the Alliance.
    Budget recommended 7-0 with $7,800 added for the Arts Council; Alliance allocation confirmed 6-0, Kimball abstaining
  6. 5.A FY26 F&B tax report to date
    Staff or committee report Budget and appropriations
    A year-to-date report on food and beverage tax collections, which fund the Tourism Board's work.
  7. 6 Adjournment
    Procedural

Agenda changes

What moved between published versions of this agenda. Item numbers shift constantly as things are inserted, so only genuine additions and removals are listed.

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