Update:
The budget as amended was approved Tuesday night, 7/15, by a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Jolley dissented only because she wanted it tabled to allow for more discussion, not because she disapproved of it.
Keep your comments and votes coming. If you have ideas about how some of these events/activities can be funded, please comment.
As most of you know, the City is recommending cutting subsidies to entertainment/recreation activities such as RiverFest, Fireworks, Ice Breaker and Civic Center events.
Commissioner Jolley does not think the City should act as the community's "entertainment director".
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments, but don't forget to vote on the poll found on the right side of the page. As always, your identity is unknown.
As most of you know, the City is recommending cutting subsidies to entertainment/recreation activities such as RiverFest, Fireworks, Ice Breaker and Civic Center events.
Commissioner Jolley does not think the City should act as the community's "entertainment director".
What do you think? Feel free to leave comments, but don't forget to vote on the poll found on the right side of the page. As always, your identity is unknown.
12 comments:
Sure, the city needs to maintain a budget, and I can even see cutting the fireworks display. but events such as the icebreaker - they are events that bring people in from all over - international in a few cases. And this brings in good advertising and possible business to our city. Its very sad when I constantly hear where Billings has this and Bozeman has that. We NEED more business, the type of advertising that can come from a city-sponsored fund.
The city NEEDS to work within its budget. It NEEDS to provide basic services first before anything else. It NEEDS to stop illegally funding projects for the few.
Case in point about basic services is that beginning July 3rd there was a water main break on 2nd Ave N and about 11th St. Water ran continuously until Monday morning the 7th without being fixed. All that happened was it was cordoned off.
Great waste of water. Why wasn't it fixed? Perhaps it's because the city didn't have the funds to pay the maintenance dept. to fix it over the holiday. If the money was available, then it was ineptitude.
Programs like Riverfest, Fireworks and Harvest Thunder need not go away. However, the city should not use very limited taxpayer dollars to pay for them.
As a community, we need to make these events happen without asking for a subsidy. We just need to line up sponsors and private money to pay for them. Are you up to the challenge to help make sure that our citizens can watch a fireworks display next July 4?
Mary Jolley
Cutting the funds to stage the events does not mean they die. We/staff need to think how to do some things to break even. Over the years the city has been adding events and the time to stop balancing the budget with reserves is over. No more reserves. It had to happen sometime. We have crumbling infrastructure and no budget has addressed this problem for many years.
Good management would do more than just come up with an idea and a subsidy.
Any new business venture must have a long term plan for its own success. That plan cannot simply be "keep writing checks to cover losses."
The Riverfest is a great idea. It is a great event. A business person would have conducted a break even analysis to determine at what level of revenue the event would break even. Then that person would have had a plan to develop that revenue in a set period of time. Say, for example, a three year window after which the event will no longer be subsidized or, perhaps, take only non-cash subsidies.
Now, the plan might be overly optimistic, and we might still be helping out into the 3rd or 4th year, but at some point if the thing won't sustain itself, there is not the level of interest in the marketplace for us to even do it, right? Governments are for essential things we can't do alone, like roads, right? Not the frills.
I have the sense that most of what the city does is ad hoc. Heck, Commissioner Rosenbaum even admitted that the city embarked on an electrical utility without a business plan.
Stop the back patting. Start the managing.
Let's also stop the 'bleeding' at the animal shelter city hall which clearly shows the paralysis with city leadership......
What is one of the purposes of a city? Many would encourage it to provide amenities that benefit its citizens and attract new citizens and visitors.
One only has to look at the benefits of recreation, for example, in attracting new businesses and professionals to a city. Don’t we want to compete for good jobs, better wages, and attract people who find our great city full of amenities that provide fun and varied activities?
To say that Great Falls should not be the community’s “entertainment director” as city commissioner Jolley has stated, is a political analysis. If Ms. Jolley really believes that the city should not be involved in “entertainment” then let her go on record, on what “entertainment” she favors cutting. Are these amenities a cost or an investment? Golf courses? Swimming pools? Parks? River’s Edge Trail? Soccer Park? Softball fields? Skate park? Ice Facility? Civic Center Events? Fireworks? What specific programs would you cut, Ms. Jolley, and at what level? I don’t mind your comments but expect you to offer solutions to what you consider spending problems. What are they? Do you, for example, support spending thousands of taxpayer dollars on our golf courses?
I don’t know the identity of GGirl. But if you look at nonprofit organizations, you don’t see GeeGuy (now out of the closet as attorney Gregg Smith or Mary Jolley or Aaron Weissman) as minor or major donors in activities in making our city attractive and important to our lives. This is typical of “let someone else” pay the price in Mr. Weissman’s comments: “As a community, we need to make these events happen without asking for a subsidy. We just need to line up sponsors and private money to pay for them. Are you up to the challenge to help make sure that our citizens can watch a fireworks display next July 4?”
This isn’t meant as a criticism of Mr. Weissman but a rhetorical question. Who do you mean by “we”? Have you made any of these events happen? Have you lined up any sponsors? Have you solicited any private funds for any of these events? If so, to what extent have you done so?
We all participate at a level we can afford but check out annual statements of nonprofits and you don’t see the nay, nay, nay, nay, nay sayers donating money to improve our city yet that is what they say should be done. I guess they mean others should do it.
People who want to build a better community and provide opportunities for our children, citizens of GF, and attract new people to move or visit GF might consider writing a check in addition to adding their comments on how Great Falls should fund its important recreational and “entertainment” activities.
"But if you look at nonprofit organizations, you don’t see GeeGuy (now out of the closet as attorney Gregg Smith or Mary Jolley or Aaron Weissman) as minor or major donors in activities in making our city attractive and important to our lives."
Au contraire, Anonymous. I am extremely active in the Cascade County United Way. I will be the Chairman next year, and I donate annually. I have served on several local government boards, and donate time and money to other local and national charities too.
If you want to poke that sort of a stick at us, you need to come out of the closet and let's you and I compare our contributions to the community.
I thought so...
I stand corrected, Mr. Smith. Nice to hear that you do donate BOTH your time and money. Sorry for the poke.
No reason to be sorry, anon. It's just dangerous to make assumptions. You might reconsider what you said about Aaron Weissman (Neighborhood Council) or Mary Jolley (City Commission) too.
I interpreted Anonymous' point as simply "put your money where your mouth is." "WE" usually means someone else. I think that was the point.Ms. Jolley and Mr. Weissman spend a great amount of time on civic activities and I applaud their committment for doing so. Anonymous does raise a valid point--if commissioner Jolley thinks the city should not be in the "entertainment business" then why would she vote for a budget that loses money on golf and swimming pools? What "entertainment programs" would she cut? It's a simple question. Ms. Jolley?
Mr. Smith,
Forgot to answer your question: My husband and I have donated over $15,000 this year to non-profits in GREAT FALLS. As you, we also donate to national organizations.
And you?
Why should we "come out of the closet" since you were geeguy (in the closet) for a long time? You advocate blogging and have not, to our knowledge, objected to someone being anonymous. So, come clean--what do you donate to United Way and other non-profits?
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