Residents, council spar over $800,000 festival and $3M in events spending; calls to redirect funds to roads and stormwater

Multiple residents and council members pressed the city to reconsider large special-event budgets and redirect discretionary dollars to infrastructure and essential services.

Residents questioned the timing of hearings and the transparency of event line items; one speaker asked, "Is that something in the budget? Nomi Fest, $800,000 — where are we getting the money for this festival?" Another public commenter said, "I am not in favor of these budgets of these tax increases," citing water-main breaks and stormwater failures.

Councilman Burns conducted a detailed review of event line items and argued the city could free up substantial money for capital needs. He listed individual items — Nomi Fest ($800,000), a winter national parade ($250,000), smaller festivals and community events — and estimated that about $1.2–$1.4 million of the $3 million events budget could be cut without undermining core services. Several council members said staff should prepare change memos showing reallocations (for example, toward street resurfacing, traffic calming and code enforcement) ahead of the final budget hearing.

The manager and CFO responded that event spending represents a small share of the overall $238.9 million citywide budget and that some events historically generate funds for resident assistance programs. Staff agreed to review event budgets and present options for reductions or reallocation.