Council Resolution 20140501-036 Alternate Funding Methods for Events

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Council Resolution 20140501-036Alternate Funding
Methods for Events

• Meeting Format
• Slide Presentation
• Agreement on Table Discussion Items
• Table Presentations
• General Q A
• Wrap Up
• Next Steps

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Council Resolution 20140501-036Alternate Funding
Methods for Events

• Approved by Council on May 1
• Proposal due back to Council on August 7
• Due to CMO by July 24

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Alternate Funding Methods for Events

• Investigate potential methods for funding
• costs associated with special events

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Alternate Funding Methods for Events

• Create a proposal for a special events fund that
  will support small and moderately-sized community
  events as well as providing a more sustainable,
  consistent, and analytical method of evaluating
  and providing financial support for large-scale
  special events.
• Any proposal should seek to minimize the impact
  on individual City departments.

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Alternate Funding Methods for Events

• Create a process for Council review of
• fee waiver requests for large-scale events.

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Stakeholders

• Event producers and promoters
• Hotel Lodging Association
• Austin Neighborhoods Council
• Arts Commission
• Music Commission
• Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau

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City Departments

• Austin Center for Events (ACE)
• Economic Development Department
• Parks and Recreation Department
• Austin Police Department
• Transportation Department
• Austin Travis County EMS
• Austin Fire Department
• Homeland Security Emergency Management
• Code Compliance

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Waivers, City Costs vs. Fees Collected
2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected 2013 Fee Waivers and City Costs vs. Actual Fees Collected


Fee Waivers City Costs Fees Collected
All Events All Events All Events
1,146,127 CPIO 65,267 APD 1,938,514
APD 4,061,472 ATD OSE 191,944
ATD OSE 512,378 AFD 313,327
AFD 583,942 HHSD 251,700
HHSD 202,559 PARD 461,709
PARD 210,829 ATCEMS 436,159
Code Compliance 96,144 Planning and DR  
ATCEMS 798,710 2013
ARR 172,156 3,593,353
Music Office  
Public Works  
Planning and DR  
2013
6,703,457

Gap Collected Costs Gap Collected Costs Gap Collected Costs
(3,110,104)
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City Co-sponsored Events

• MLK March Parade
• Celebrate Texas Parade 5K
• SXSW
• Kite Festival
• Juneteenth Parade Festival
• Austin Symphony 4th of July
• Night of the Bat
• Diez y Seis (Fiesta De Independencia)
• Austin Pride Parade
• Veterans Day Parade
• Austin Farmers Market

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City Co-Sponsored Events

• Viva la Vida Fest new in FY 2013 - 8-8-13
• Welcome Home Iraq Veterans' Parade was a one-time
  event
• Night of the Bat Event not co-sponsored in FY
  2013
• Asia Fest was only for FY 2008
• HOPE Farmer's Markets was combined with the
  Austin Farmer's Market fee waiver in FY 2014
• Fiesta de Independencia (Diez y Seis) had no City
  fees waived in FY 2013

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Fee Waivers For City Co-Sponsored Events

• FY2006 127,972
• FY2007 213,728
• FY2008 347,396
• FY2009 300,339
• FY2010 346,419
• FY2011 541,416
• FY2012 913,822
• FY2013 1,096,257
• FY2014 1,129,184
• Total 5,034,533

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Possible Funding Sources

• Event Registration Fee Surcharge
• Events on City of Austin property that charge
  registration or admission fees
• Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) Fund
• Parking Fees and Fines
• Sales Tax

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Topics for Table Discussions

• Methods for Funding Costs of Events
• Proposal for Special Events Fund
• One Fund? Two Funds?
• Criteria to Receive Fund Money
• Process for Council Review for Fee Waiver
  Requests
• Other Topics

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Austin Music Commission Funding Concept

• Establish a fund to help finance the costs for
  special events with significant cultural and/or
  economic impact in order to preserve these events
  and ensure sustainability.
• Available for qualifying City co-sponsored
  special events as well as other special events
  which apply and can show significant cultural or
  economic impact to the City
• Estimated 1000 hotel rooms are scheduled to enter
  Austin inventory in 2015
• Allocate 20 of the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT)
  Funds collected from new room inventory to a
  newly created Special Event fund
• 80 of HOT Fund growth from new room inventory
  would continue to fund current recipients

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Chapter 351 of the Tax Code states that the use
of HOT funds is limited to

• Registration of Convention Delegates
• Advertising, Solicitations and Promotions that
  Directly Promote Tourism and the Hotel and
  Convention Industry
• Promotions of the Arts that Directly Promote
  Tourism and the Hotel and Convention Industry
• Historical Restoration and Preservation
  Activities that Directly Promote Tourism and the
  Hotel and Convention Industry

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Chapter 351 of the Tax Code states that the use
of HOT funds is limited to

• Sporting Event Expenses that Substantially
  Increase Economic Activity at Hotels
• Signage
• Transportation
• Sporting Facilities Enhancements or Upgrades
• Convention Centers and Visitor Information Centers

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Texas cities using Funding Sources

• To date we have researched and found 30 cities in
  Texas that currently utilize other funding
  sources for special events that qualify most
  utilizing a percentage of HOT Funds administered
  by the Convention Visitors Bureau (CVB)
• Cedar Park
• Dallas
• Georgetown
• Giddings
• Fredericksburg
• Round Rock
• San Angelo
• Victoria

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Criteria Example

• Dallas, TX
• Funding Process
• Within 30 days of the events conclusion, the
  applicant must submit a final report including
  actual Return On Investment (ROI) compared to
  projections and supporting documentation showing
  the actual expenditure of expenses.
• After review by the TPID Administrator, (DCVBs
  CFO) expenses will be reimbursed proportionally
  based on actual ROI up to the maximum
  pre-approved amount.
• An organization may select one of three options
  to verify ROI
• 1) Hotel Booking Code The use of a Hotel
  Booking Code used by attendees to book hotel
  rooms will generate trackable hotel room night
  count.
• 2) Ticket Sales Using the estimated total
  number of incremental ticket sales for the Dallas
  TPID funded event sold outside of the DFW
  Metropolitan Statistical Area multiplied by 0.54
  will equal hotel room night count.
• 3) Attendance Using the estimated total number
  of incremental attendees of the event to be
  funded by the Dallas TPID multiplied by 0.057
  will equal the hotel room night count.

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Criteria Example Cont.

• Dallas, TX
• Program Eligibility Requirements
• Legal Status Applicants must provide
  documentation of the legal status of their
  business or non-profit or for-profit corporation.
  
• Tourism Mission While an applicants primary
  mission need not be tourism related, the
  applicants strategic plan must include tourism
  marketing as a component of that mission.
• Use of Funds An applicants funding from the
  DTPID must be used to bring in additional
  out-of-town visitors to Dallas for the event.
• Location Regardless of where an applicant is
  headquartered or physically located, 100 of the
  funding received from the DTPID must be in
  support of programs providing a measurable
  benefit to the assessed hotels (lodging
  businesses) within the City of Dallas.
• Prohibited Uses DTPID funds cannot be used for
  political activity, programs completed prior to
  the submission of the application or any effort
  not specifically designed to increase hotel
  nights.
• Promotional Material Requirement DTPID funded
  entities shall include use of the Dallas Tourism
  Public Improvement District logo, commensurate
  with similar level sponsors, on all promotional
  materials (including but not limited to,
  brochures, newsletters, advertising, fact sheets,
  news releases, and Internet web sites).
• Funding Limits Applicants and events are limited
  to 50,000 annually. Events receiving other DTPID
  funds are not eligible for event application
  funding. Events may only receive DTPID event
  funding for a maximum of three (3) years.
• Minimum Valuations Events will have a minimum
  10,000 impact on hotel lodging and a 10-to-1 ROI
  in hotel industry impact for every dollar
  provided in DTPID funds.
• http//www.dtpid.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/DT
  PID-Event-Application-Packet-revised-July-2013.pdf
  

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Table Top Discussion

• Each table to discuss all identified topics with
  intent to generate ideas
• Discussions should be high level at this point

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Next Meeting

• Late July, will update when location is
  identified
• Next Steps