Teton Pass ambassadors want 7-day coverage, and fixed a fuel-budget typo
A TBCA staff report to the lodging-tax board says the Pass ambassador and shuttle program is still mostly funded by lodging taxes, is pushing for seven-days-a-week coverage, and corrected a fuel line item that was off by a factor of 10.
If you have ever rolled up to Teton Pass on a storm morning and wondered who is supposed to keep the parking lot from turning into a free-for-all, this document is the inside baseball. In a new staff report, Teton Basin Citizen Alliance (TBCA) answers the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board’s questions about its 2026–27 ambassador and shuttle funding request. The big picture: lodging tax money still pays most of the bill, and TBCA wants more “boots on the ground” coverage on the Pass. (TBCA Staff Report — Responses to JHTTB Questions on 2026–27 Funding Proposal)
TBCA says the Travel and Tourism Board covered about 60% of total program costs in 2025–26 (not counting extra admin and ops). To reduce dependence on that one spigot, TBCA points to donations (including Old Bill’s), a membership program, the Jay Pistono Memorial Fund, and business support, including in-kind gear and vehicle-related help tied to putting logos on the shuttle.
On costs, TBCA argues the payroll bump is about actually staffing the program director role that hires, trains, schedules, and supervises ambassadors, and about expanding Pass ambassador coverage to seven days a week (something TBCA says it partially backfilled mid-season using its reserves). TBCA also flags a leadership transition, with longtime acting executive director Gary Kofinas (who worked pro bono) stepping back, and the group planning to hire an executive director for fundraising, but TBCA emphasizes it is not asking lodging tax dollars to pay that salary.
One detail worth catching before it turns into a talking point: TBCA says an earlier budget had a typo listing fuel at $18,000 when it should have been $1,800, and it notes recent gas-price volatility as a reason it padded the corrected number. On the vehicle side, TBCA defends moving from a $5,000 older, rear-wheel-drive van lease to an $11,000 all-wheel-drive Transit from a local rental company as a winter safety and reliability decision for the Pass.
Source Documents
| Date | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2026 | TBCA Staff Report — Responses to JHTTB Questions on 2026–27 Funding Proposal | staff report |