Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk
CC:	Tarik Khatib, Chief of Police Mark Bradford, Fire Medical Chief Charles Soules, Public Works Director Ernie Shaw, Interim Director of Parks and Recreation
DATE:	June 1, 2011
RE:	Costs and Fees Related to City Support of Events

At the May 10, 2011, City Commission meeting, Commissioner Carter asked for a report on special events and in what circumstances city costs to support those events are charged to the event organizers. The attached table lists many of the types of events that are sometimes held in Lawrence, and what costs are charged to the event organizers. This memo does not analyze individual events regarding the appropriateness of charging for city services, but if the City Commission would like more in depth analysis of particular events staff would be happy to prepare it.

Summary of Findings

The Police Department sometimes charges for their services in support of special events. The Police Department generally does not charge the universities, does charge the school district, and does not charge other special event organizers (such as 5Ks, parades, street parties, etc.). Police Department support usually takes the form of planning, traffic control, and patrol/crowd control at events.

The Fire Medical Department usually does charge event organizers for standby medical services at events per City Code Section 8-401(F). The department typically charges actual personnel costs (including wages and benefits) plus 10%, except that for Lawrence public school events a rate of $13.00 per quarter hour is charged.  

Other departments whose services support events, including Public Works (street cleaning, barricades, street repairs, route review) and Parks and Recreation (trash barrels, downtown cleanup, park reservations) generally do not charge for their services. Exceptions include dumpsters, park reservation fees and park alcohol fees.

Additionally, there are administrative costs which are generally not charged to event organizers, such as time spent by City Clerk’s Office and City Manager’s Office staff reviewing event plans, coordinating approval processes, and coordinating city services in support of events. Many of these events require a Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way Permit or a Temporary Alcohol Permit, which have nominal fees of $10 and $25, respectively. There are also costs for sending notices and publishing ordinances for some events. Police and Fire Medical department management spend considerable time planning for events as well. The Police Department estimates that 75% of a day shift sergeant’s time is spent planning for events during the spring and summer months. 

Considerations

The City Commission may want to consider the following issues related to costs and fees for city support of events.

• A Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way Permit is currently required for most events that close streets or impact traffic, including events ranging from sidewalk sales to 5Ks to bike races to construction projects. A $10 fee is charged for this permit which is adequate for very simple permits, but does not come close to covering the cost of staff time devoted to most event reviews. A separate permit for events (races, street parties, etc.) with its own fee could be more effective and more equitable.
• Charitable events and events intended to bring outside visitors to Lawrence often request waiver of all fees and donation of city services in support of the event. Such waivers and donations may be appropriate but there is no policy regarding them and it should be recognized that they represent a transfer of event costs from the event organizers to the city tax payers.
• The number of events held in the city has been increasing as the city has grown and has become known as a friendly venue (partly, perhaps, due to generous non-fee charging practices). In 2010 the Police Department provided services to over 50 special events, an average of about one per week (higher in warmer weather months and lower in the winter). Staffing events, rather than traditional policing activities, actually drives scheduling in many cases. In some cases events also prevent police staff from taking leave, as mandatory work days are required to ensure enough staff is available. Another measure of the activity taking place in the city is the number of Temporary Use of Public Right-of-Way Permits issued. While not all of these are for events, the total number of permits has steadily increased over the past three years from 195 to 254 to 273. An analysis of 2010 permits showed approximately 20%, or 55, were for events such as races, festivals, carnivals, block parties, etc.
• A survey of regional and Big 12 cities conducted by the Police Department in 2008 found that many charged event organizers for off-duty police support. If the City Commission desires to adopt a fee schedule for events staff would suggest an updated survey of other communities.
• The Police Department has suggested requiring the hiring of off-duty officers for support of most events, with the actual costs charged to the event organizers, as a way to reduce the impact of event support on police resources and activities. 
• Event support provided by city departments has associated opportunity costs (e.g. traffic control for a race takes police officers off normal patrol activities, Street division provision of barricades takes employees away from pot hole and other maintenance activities, etc.)

ACTION:     Direct staff as appropriate.