Finance committee reviews proposed guest‑tax split for parks, Visit Norman and arts groups

The Finance Committee reviewed a staff proposal to revert the city’s guest‑tax distribution to a 50/25/25 split to fund parks capital, Visit Norman marketing and arts organizations.

Mr. Olsen, presenting Item 2, said staff will seek contracts with Visit Norman and the Norman Art Council to formalize allocations. "What staff is recommending is that we go back to our traditional split, where it was before… a 50 25 25 split," Mr. Olsen said, adding that Visit Norman’s projection for next fiscal year is roughly $2.4 million while council and parks and rec were projected in the $1.2 million range.

Mr. Olsen explained how guest‑tax capital will be budgeted a year behind operational receipts so capital projects can be planned without disrupting current operating budgets. He also told the committee that some line items labeled "other support" (about $122,000 in one column) reflect emergency or capital maintenance the city’s facilities team carries out for agency‑owned buildings and not direct cash grants to agencies.

Council members pressed for clarity on how "other support" is calculated and whether an 8% proposed cut to outside agencies (a paper exercise that would save about $103,000) should be applied only to regular contributions or to contributions plus "over and above" emergency support. Staff said some emergency work—such as an HVAC condensation repair that produced attic mold—was paid from capital or emergency funding and would not always reduce agency allocations.

Mr. Olsen summarized next steps: staff will finalize projections, include the right‑hand (budget) column in the draft budget to be printed, and return with contracts and allocation details as the council moves through budget hearings.

No formal votes were taken; council members were given the opportunity to amend allocations during the final budget deliberations.