Commissioners court signs MERP letter for Texas Motorplex

The Major Events Reimbursement Program allows national events located in Texas to apply for reimbursement for certain costs through the Office of the Governor.

One of the events qualifying for this program is in Ennis, where the Texas Motorplex will host the 2022 Fall Nationals race known as the Stampede of Speed for the National Hot Rod Association.

During their Aug. 9 meeting, the Ellis County Commissioners Court approved signing a MERP letter to the Office of the Governor, endorsing its support. That letter is one of many items needed to apply for the program.

“They put it into the Major Event Reimbursement Fund, which doesn’t cost anybody any money. It’s sales tax reimbursement from out of state sales, so it puts us in the same consideration as the Super Bowl, the Final Four or (a) NASCAR event,” Texas Motorplex owner Billy Meyer explained to the commissioners court in requesting the support letter.

Ellis County Judge Todd Little said the event is expected to bring about $227 million into the community, of which about $158 million is in direct expenditures. The event expects about 120,000 people to attend.

According to the Office of the Texas Governor’s website, MERP is one of three funds in the Events Trust Funds Program. The funds are meant to help cities and counties in Texas with “paying costs related to preparing for or conducting an event by depositing projected gains in various local and state taxes generated from the event in a dedicated event-specific trust fund to cover allowable expenses.”

For example, the Texas Motorplex requires a vast amount of security and safety resources from the Ellis County community, and MERP helps cover the cost. Other expenses that could be included in the reimbursement are travel, food and other. Documentation must be submitted for each expense.

Only specific events qualify for MERP, and they must be listed in the Texas Government Code Ch. 478. Major Events Reimbursement Code to apply. The site must be chosen through a highly competitive selection, and the event must be held once a year.

The event must also have an amount of incremental increase of tax receipts of $1 million or more and submit a trafficking of persons plan 30 days prior to the first day of the event.

To apply for MERP, applicants must complete a seven-page application consisting of eight different sections. These sections ask for information about the event, county, site selection, economic impact, attendance and more.

Along with the application, the applicant must send in endorsement documentation from either a county or city, a site selection letter from the selection organization, an economic impact study, an affidavit for economic impact and for endorsing entity, and an event support contract.

Once all items have been submitted, applicants wait 30 days to hear if they are approved. Once approved, applicants are told the maximum amount of the fund and the maximum local share needed to participate. They are also informed about the attendance metric that was used to determine the amount of the trust fund.

According to the Office of the Governor’s website, all decisions about the trust fund and its establishment are final.

After applicants receive approval, they must submit an event support contract along with any changes prior to the event’s first day. Following the event, they must submit an attendance certification no later than 45 days after the event and request disbursement no later than 180 days after the event.

This is the second year Ellis County to serve as the sponsoring entity. There is no cost to the county.

Originally published August 19, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/commissioners-court-signs-merp-letter-for-texas-motorplex/article_8c47cf4c-2001-11ed-a6dc-53311fe8c44b.html