Memorandum
City of Lawrence
City Manager’s Office
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TO: |
Tom Markus, City Manager Diane Stoddard, Interim City Manager Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager Porter Arneill, Arts & Culture Director |
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FROM: |
Megan Gilliland, Communications Manager |
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DATE: |
March 28, 2016 |
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RE: |
TGT Grant Program Approvals |
As per your request, I went back and reviewed a couple of City Commission meetings and I wanted to share some calculations with you that I believe should be a part of the conversation.
At the February 9, 2016 meeting, where the Commission gave approval of the grant program, the conversation between Commissioner Soden and Interim City Manager Diane Stoddard was where staff took direction to amend the grant application to state: No more than 25% of the event’s total overall cash budget will be granted from the City of Lawrence, including the Transient Guest Tax Grant Program. If other city funds have been requested through other programs, this should be noted on the application and taken into consideration when developing the request through the TGT Grant Program.
The advisory board was aware of the 25% rule and the $60,000 pre-allotted to the FSF event in their deliberations. They discussed the pre-allotted funds and honestly thought they were granting within the 25% cap. However, I think that the mathematical equation used by the advisory board in the March 11 meeting to determine the 25% cap should have actually been calculated as detailed below (please note that I went back and re-totaled the FSF application’s numbers and found an error in their addition under the 3rd party cash match). The correct equation should be:
Free State Festival
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TGT Grant Request |
$15,500.00 |
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Requestor's Contribution |
$93,000.00 |
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3rd Party In-Kind Cash |
$161,000.00 |
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Total Event Budget |
$269,500.00 |
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25% of Total Budget |
$67,375.00 |
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Total Budget Less CITY + CVB |
$60,000.00 |
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Maximum amount available |
$7,375.00* |
*$15,500 was recommended as grant funding from advisory board
The advisory board thought that 25% of the event budget was actually $52,375 and granted $15,500 thinking it was under the cap (the event budget of $269,500 less $60K = 209,500 x .25 = $52,375). However, if you calculate 25% of the event budget ($67,375), then subtract the city/CVB funding ($60,000), you get a maximum eligible grant request of $7,375.00.
If the policy interpretation is that any event receiving city and CVB funds from the Transient Guest Tax Fund, then two CVB-sponsored events are affected. These events, the Downtown Shot Put and the Tour of Lawrence, receive funding through the CVB Annual Operating Budget. Historically, these events have come to the city to make up funding for the events not available in their operating budget. If you apply the formula above consistently for the Shot Put and Tour of Lawrence, they would not have been eligible for any funding. The TOL was granted $10,000 and the Shot Put was granted $9,009 by the advisory board. The calculations below show the calculation.
Downtown Shot Put
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TGT Grant Request |
$15,500.00 |
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Requestor's Contribution |
$45,651.00 |
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3rd Party In-Kind Cash |
$5,000.00 |
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Total Event Budget |
$66,151.00 |
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25% of Total Budget |
$16,537.75 |
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Total Budget Less CITY + CVB |
$45,651.00 |
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Maximum amount available |
$0.00* |
*$9,009 was recommended as grant funding from advisory board
Tour of Lawrence
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TGT Grant Request |
$10,000.00 |
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Requestor's Contribution |
$53,000.00 |
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3rd Party In-Kind Cash |
$10,000.00 |
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Total Event Budget |
$73,000.00 |
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25% of Total Budget |
$18,250.00 |
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Total Budget Less CITY + CVB |
$53,000.00 |
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Maximum amount available |
$0.00* |
*$10,000 was recommended as grant funding from advisory board
As I mentioned in the staff memo, there are several policy clarifications that the City Commission will need to weigh in on. The advisory board had hoped to make this first round of funding and then work on structure and process over the summer and come back to the Commission before another grant round. 2016 is a transitioning year for funding for these types of events since the City Commission has stated they wanted to not look at out-of-cycle requests. The FSF issue would not occur in future years if all funding for these events remains in the confines of the grant program and everyone has to use the standardized process.
The City Commission retains the authority to establish this policy and methodology for granting of funds. This memo is intended to provide clarification as to the method of funding used by the advisory board. The staff apologizes for the confusion over the mis-interpretation of this policy.