GALVESTON - Council members Thursday will discuss repealing a pair of ordinances that required the Park Board of Trustees to transfer $14 million in hotel occupancy tax revenue into city accounts.

Councilman Mikey Bouvier, who voted against the ordinances when they passed Dec. 8, 2022, put the item up for discussion with the second of Mayor Craig Brown, who has longed agreed to be the second to get items on an agenda.

“We need to look at those ordinances, because they’re broken,” Bouvier said.

The Dec. 8, 2022, ordinance states:

“The Park Board shall transfer to the City all HOT funds in its possession but may retain an amount equal to 120 days of reserves and may retain for the remainder of the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 an amount equal to 112 days of maintenance and operational funds. Any dispute over the calculation of the monetary amounts set forth in this section shall be resolved by calculation by the City Manager and such determination shall be final.”

Over the past several months, the park board and city have disagreed about the scope of the park board’s powers, culminating in a Feb. 14 decision by the park board to take the matter to the Attorney General’s Office.

City ordinance and state law mandates that hotel occupancy tax funds be held in city accounts, Brown and other city officials argue.

Bouvier said he worries the ordinances hamstring the park board’s ability to fund its projects, so he’s seeking to amend them.

“First thing is to correct the ordinances so that the park board’s day-to-day operations run smoothly,” he said. “They need to start preparing for Fourth of July and some other big projects coming up.”

If that doesn’t work, Bouvier said he’ll seek a motion to return the entire $14 million to the park board.

It’s not the city standing in the way of the park board’s goals, it’s these ordinances, Bouvier said.

The workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, 823 25th St.