Sonoma County Tourism CEO Ken Fischang steps down

Ken Fischang, who led efforts to market Sonoma County over the past 12 years as it grew into an international destination for visitors, abruptly resigned as CEO of the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau shortly before its annual contract is reviewed today by county supervisors.

Fischang, 58, was placed on administrative leave on Wednesday and resigned on Friday, according to a statement from Joe Bartolomei, chair of the bureau’s board of directors and owner of the Farmhouse Inn. He did not provide ?additional details.

Fischang did not return messages Monday seeking comment. In a Twitter post Monday, he expressed excitement over being named executive director of the Saugatuck Douglas Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, which caters to visitors on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

As the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau’s only CEO since the nonprofit organization began contracting with the county for tourism marketing in 2005, Fischang earned praise in some quarters for steering the agency’s growth.

“When Ken came there was no track record,” said Ben Stone, executive director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. “He had to take it from ground zero and shape it into the organization we know today.”

The Tourism Bureau has an $8.3 million budget and 26 full-time employees, including those staffed in regional offices across the nation. The agency receives the bulk of its funds from a 2 percent assessment on rooms at larger lodging establishments. In addition, it receives a portion of transient occupancy taxes, budgeted at $3.1 million for the fiscal year ending in June.

The local tourism industry experienced phenomenal growth over the 12 years Fischang was at the helm of the Tourism Bureau, establishing new records last year for hotel occupancy and average daily room rates. Total travel-related spending in the county rose to $1.9 billion in 2016, an increase of 5.7 percent over the previous year, and the industry supports more than 20,000 jobs, according to the bureau.

Observers said it has been a team effort.

“It goes to everyone working together,” said Tim Zahner, the Tourism Bureau’s chief marketing officer, who was named Monday as the agency’s interim CEO.

Asked if Fischang was a good leader, Zahner said he could not comment on what he called a “personnel issue.”

Supervisor Shirlee Zane, the board’s chairwoman, also credited the Tourism Bureau’s staff in general for doing good work. She attributed the growth of the local tourism industry mainly to the booming economy and to Sonoma County being a “God-given place” that naturally attracts visitors.

Zane also referenced the challenge of welcoming visitors while also “maintaining the quality of life for our residents.”

Fischang moved to Sonoma County in 2005, leaving his job as executive director of the visitors bureau and chamber of commerce in Kalamazoo, Mich., to take the helm of the new organization designed to unify and expand the county’s tourism marketing programs.

It opened sales offices - including in California, Florida, Texas and Illinois - and partnered with the county’s winery and vineyard trade groups to promote Sonoma County as a world-class Wine Country destination.

Last year, it led a ?$1 million effort by the tourism, wine and vineyard industries to capitalize on the international spotlight cast on the Bay Area during the 2016 Super Bowl, becoming an official partner of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee. The bureau was sued by the First Amendment Coalition alleging violations of public record laws when it refused to release a copy of its contract with the host committee, citing contractual obligations. It ultimately released the contract to settle the lawsuit.

The Tourism Bureau’s internal spending and accounting practices have come under recent scrutiny. Its annual review, which is set to come before county supervisors today, includes results of an independent audit raising a number of concerns with credit card payments for travel expenses in 2016.

The audit found meal reimbursements for staff with no breakdown of what was purchased, including whether it was alcohol; reimbursements for nontravel-related meals; charges for personal expenses; and at least one case where an employee’s spouse was reimbursed for cellphone use.

Fischang was not named individually in the audit, and the Tourism Bureau said it has taken steps to address problems, including additional layers of approval for reimbursement and repayment of personal charges.

Nevertheless, county staff is recommending supervisors place more restrictions on the Tourism Bureau’s travel and meal expenditures as conditions of the agency’s updated service agreement with the county.

Zane said “there needs to be some changes” in the Tourism Bureau’s contract to reflect “fiscal responsibility and transparency.”

The supervisor also said the board should discuss the amount of discretionary funding given to the Tourism Bureau in light of competing needs.

The $3.1 million in transient occupancy tax revenues budgeted for the bureau is the single largest amount of TOT allocated by the Board of Supervisors this year to any county program, narrowly edging out the amount earmarked for Regional Parks, according to county officials.

“We certainly want our tourism industry to continue to thrive, but we also have to look at competing needs in front of us,” Zane said.

Fischang’s departure came three days after the Tourism Bureau’s executive committee convened a special closed session meeting last Tuesday to discuss the CEO’s job performance. Concerns about Fischang’s leadership were aired publicly in early April when an email purportedly sent from his personal account went out to a number of county officials and members of the media. The email stated Fischang would be stepping down from his job because of “personal and unprofessional insecurities,” having a “self-centered agenda” and for “traveling and socializing with my peers under the guise of selling Sonoma County.”

Officials at the time said it appeared Fischang’s email had been hacked.

Zahner on Monday said he does not know the source of the email, or have information “into the investigation of it.”

The interim CEO said the Tourism Bureau’s directors may discuss hiring a replacement for Fischang at their May 24 meeting.

You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 707-521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @deadlinederek.