Advertisement

Should St. Pete spend more as co-sponsor of city events?

 
Published March 3, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — At least three times in the past year, Mayor Rick Kriseman had to deal with flareups over the city's co-sponsored events process.

First, he found out about a hold-over pledge to give money to the Blue Ocean Film Festival, which made its debut last fall.

Then, St. Pete Pride organizers questioned why they received no financial support from the city while others like the Suncoasters get money each year without question.

Earlier this year, a Tampa Bay Times investigation raised questions about the transparency behind the annual Martin Luther King events, which historically have been propped up with city funds.

Now Kriseman's team is suggesting the city might revert to an application process used before the recession to dole out a pot of money that would be set aside in future city budgets for such purpose. But if a subset of the City Council is any guide, the appetite for such a scheme could be small.

"It's really the way we used to handle it," City Administrator Gary Cornwell told council members Charlie Gerdes, Jim Kennedy and Bill Dudley, who met recently as the co-sponsored events subcommittee, which periodically convenes to approve applications from groups that want to hold festivals and programs with the city's blessing. "I think it'll be a little fairer distribution of these dollars."

As it stands now, there are a handful of events, such as the annual MLK Battle of the Bands, First Night and Suncoasters' Festival of States night parade, that seemingly automatically get line item allocations in the city budget. That's caused conflicts in recent years as newer events, like Localtopia, wanted to find out how they too could get financial support. The answer for the last several years has been unclear, because since the 2007 recession, the city's stance on co-sponsored events has been they are "in name only."

So if groups wanted some seed money, for instance, or a break on sometimes hefty bills for police coverage and cleanup, they'd need to lobby the right people and hope it got formally put into the city budget.

Last year, council members asked staff to figure out if there was a better, more standardized way to do things.

But the response to Cornwell's idea was tepid.

The city is on track to host well more than 100 events this year, approaching a record, officials said. Most will be at waterfront parks, and while organizers won't get any cash from the city, they do receive marketing and planning help.

Gerdes and Kennedy questioned the need to divvy up a pot of money, particularly when it could mean a lot of events getting very little.

"What I'm not hearing is a compelling need for us to subsidize any of the events," said Kennedy, who at one point suggested "if we don't give anybody money than everyone is happy."

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

Gerdes said it would be "insignificant" to give a large event like Ribfest, for instance, a few thousand dollars. But Dudley, who is involved with the Northeast Exchange Club, which hosts the annual event, pointed out that any city assistance would mean the organization would have more to donate to charities.

City staff also warned the council members that whatever direction they go, they might need to address the word "co-sponsor," since it prompts complaints from groups and promoters who aren't happy that there isn't a financial contribution.

Contact Kameel Stanley at kstanley@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8643. Follow @cornandpotatoes.