CC Minutes - 02/16/98 Work Session

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that the Citizen Involvement Committee had requested council authorization to review the appointment process to department advisory committees. Roll call; the motion carried unanimously, 8:0. II. WORK SESSION: EUGENE CELEBRATION Jim Johnson, Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department Director, provided the presentation. He identified two policy issues for council resolution: 1) should the Eugene Celebration continue under City sponsorship; and 2) because it does not appear that the Celebration can be 100- percent self-supporting, should the Celebration receive a General Fund subsidy in the future. Mr. Johnson said that in response to the latter question, staff did not think that the Celebration could become 100 percent self-supporting. Mr. Johnson provided background on the financial status of the Celebration and alternatives for proceeding. Mr. Johnson said that the options included 1) retain the Celebration as a City- sponsored and operated event; 2) transfer the event to a nonprofit agency; and 3) terminate the event. Mr. Johnson reviewed the findings of the City's consultant, S2 Intelligence, related to other events conducted in other areas of the nation, regarding the operations of those events and how they differed from the Celebration. Mr. Johnson discussed the advantages and disadvantages of privatizing the event to a nonprofit organization. He estimated transition costs at $168,500. Mr. Johnson highlighted strategic issues associated with the transition. Mr. Meisner asked if the Celebration budget had been overspent in 1997. Carol Brewster reminded the council that there was a budget freeze early in 1997 that held budgets at the FY97 level. The Celebration's strategy, as approved by the council, was to replace City funds with replacement revenue starting in 1996, but revenues were frozen at a target below the actual target approved by the council. She said that the Celebration's actual revenue target was $425,000, not $315,000. Ms. Brewster said it was staff's understanding that if the Celebration exceeded the revenue target, it could match its spending to the targeted revenue. The Celebration already had a long-range plan for meeting the 1994 council target, but had been caught in "budget limbo" in June for a September event. Mr. Meisner asked about the total for Celebration expenditures in FY98. Ms. Brewster estimated expenditures at $388,000 through December 1997, which was close to the revenues collected ($365,000) and the $25,000 budgeted for in-kind services. Mr. Meisner asked how the Celebration controlled costs and monitored expenditures. Mr. Johnson said that the need for cost control was part of the rationale for the staff recommendation. He said that staff believed it was time to transition and evolve the event away from the City, not so much for budget reasons, but because if it retained the City focus it could not be self-supporting and would continue to require General Fund support. Mr. Meisner asked why anyone else would want to assume responsibility for the Celebration if staff projected it could not be done at a profit. Mr. Johnson clarified that staff did not think it MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 16, 1998 Page 5 5:30 p.m.