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Cities cut giving taxpayer money to festivals

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By Justin McClelland, Staff Writer Updated 10:23 AM Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Local cities are cutting back on the amount of money they give to festivals and other non-profit promotional organizations, forcing organizers to seek funding elsewhere for these events or risk cutting back on what has made the festivals useful promotional tools for the city.

City contributions to festivals across Butler and Warren counties have been dramatically slashed since 2009. In some cases, such as Middletown’s Middfest, city contributions have dropped to zero. In 2009, Hamilton passed a resolution to not give money to festivals, although they made a exception for Rivers Days in 2011. Lebanon City Council gave $18,000 in taxpayer money to six organizations last week, four of which promote festivals in the city. It was the same amount they gave last year, but nearly half of what they gave in 2010.

“It’s a depressing story,” said Virginia Ritan, chairwoman of Middfest. “There aren’t many alternatives in our particular area. It’s a tough time.”

In the wake of depleting costs, organizers are looking for other ways to meet the funds. Sara Arseneau, director of the Lebanon Chamber of Commerce which runs the annual Horse Carriage Parade, an event that draws 100,000 people to Lebanon, said she has looked to more corporate sponsorship to aid the festival.

Tony Traub, chairman of Hamilton’s Great Miami River Days, which attracts more than 20,000 people to Hamilton, is seeking similar aid.

Ritan said Middfest has not been as lucky. She said she’s had to make tough choices on areas to cut back on.

“It’s a matter of necessity and priority,” said Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan. “I would love to fund these festivals because they do enhance the quality of life, but we have to focus on other things like a solid infrastructure and economic development on a limited budget.”

Mayor Amy Brewer looks at Lebanon’s civic donation program as an investment for the city in that it advertises the city to visitors and brings pedestrian traffic to downtown shops.

“We have four major festivals plus our theatre group – they are part of the reason we were named the best hometown in Southern Ohio,” Brewer said, citing a ranking of the city made by “Ohio Magazine” last summer. “To me it’s really a quality of life issue.”

Traub agrees that festival events provide a value to the city beyond entertainment. Last year, Hamilton gave the event $2,500 but also provided a significant amount of in-kind services like water and electric utilities. The organization has asked for $5,200 from the city this year but it has not been determined how much they will actually receive.

“If the money’s there, then I think the city should support us because we provide economic development,” Traub said. “Anything that brings money into the city is worthwhile.”

Mulligan said he can understand how festivals can be seen as an economic development tool but doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.

“In terms of long term economic development and growing jobs, I don’t know that it’s there,” Mulligan said. “I think they are primarily a quality of life item.”

Arseneau said the money Lebanon gave to the chamber was used for “the less glamorous” but still necessary aspects of operating the events. Much more important than the money is the utility services and police overtime, Arseneau said.

The Sauerkraut festival, which fills the streets of Waynesville during a two-day weekend every October does not receive any financial support from the village of Waynesville and pays for police overtime and electric use, said Chamber head Dawn Schroeder.

“We budget our money very carefully,” Schroeder said.

The festival operates by charging vendors rental space along the festival tracks and through sponsorships.

LCNB National Bank has been the Presenting Sponsor for a number of local events including the Sauerkraut Festival, the Horse and Carriage Parade and Lebanon Blues festival.

“We are a local bank and want to find ways to support our community locally,” said LCNB CEO and Chairman Steve Wilson.

Wilson said putting LCNB’s name on an enjoyable festival also creates good will between his company and potential customers who may attend the festival.

Building the trust of a community that your festival is worth a donation can be a difficult hurdle to mount, said Kevin Shew. When Mason leaders opted to completely do away with the city’s Fourth of July festival in early 2011, Shew, who owns Prestige Fireworks in Mason, mounted his own private campaign to put on the event. Shew said he received a good deal of private donations — both from individuals and corporations — but a lot came after the event.

“I think there was some concern that if I didn’t raise all the funds then what would happen to the money I did take in,” Shew said, noting the event cost $35,000 to put on.

Shew said that with the tough economy, he believed funding of local festivals was actually more vital than ever.

“So many people are taking staycations now and they still want to do something,” Shew noted. “Plus for the fireworks, that was a community event. There were people (at Mason’s fireworks event) who lived two blocks away from me and I met them for the very first time at the festival.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.

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