CITY OF VANCOUVER
POLICY REPORT
CULTURE
Date: |
July 8, 2003 | |
Author: |
Lorenz von Fersen | |
Phone No.: |
604.871.6005 | |
RTS No.: |
03445 | |
CC File No.: |
2051 | |
Meeting Date: |
July 29, 2003 |
TO: |
Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic |
FROM: |
Director, Office of Cultural Affairs |
SUBJECT: |
Celebration Grants: Costs of City Services to Major Parades |
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT Council approve establishment of a new component in the Celebration grants program to assist major parades by recognizing up to 50% of their City service costs as eligible for grant support, as outlined in this report.
If "A" is approved, then
B. THAT Council approve an increase of up to $25,000 in the 2003 allocation to the Celebration grants program budget, for a "City services" component for qualifying parades as provided for in Recommendation "A". Source of funds this year to be a one-time allocation from the "Opportunities" budget authorized in 2002 and reserved for festivals and celebrations activity, with the increase to the Celebration grants program to be included in the 2004 Operating Budget.
If "B" is approved then
C. THAT Council approve an allocation of up to $8,000 to the Vancouver Pride Society toward a maximum of 50% of the cost of City services for the 2003 Pride parade. Source of funds to be the new "City services" component of Celebration grants.
GENERAL MANAGER COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.
Council policy is to recover the costs of civic services provided to events held on City streets and properties, except for the provision of up to $500 for police costs.
In October 2002, Council approved $75,000 for the Celebration grant program, including support for major parades; however, the cost of City services were not eligible expenses for these grants.
On May 27, 2003, in conjunction with the first Celebration grants allocation report, Council requested that staff report back on the recommendation of the grant program's community advisory committee to review the impact of police and engineering costs on major parades.
Approval of grant recommendations requires eight affirmative votes.
PURPOSE
This is a report back on the staff review of the impact of City service costs on major parades, recommending changes to the Celebration grants program to:
· provide for grants to assist major parades with up to 50% of their City service costs through a new component of the Celebration grants program;
· increase the Celebration grants budget by $25,000 to provide for requests in this new component;
· approve a grant for up to 50% of City service costs to one major parade.
BACKGROUND
The issue of who pays for police and engineering costs for parades is not a new one. Historically the City has supported four major parades (PNE, Sea Festival, Grey Cup and Remembrance Day) by designating them as "Civic Events" and absorbing the cost of police, traffic signage, and sanitation. In addition, the Chinese New Year's parade has received support through the "Other" grants category. While some of these parades are no longer held, no new annual parades were added to the Civic Events category, and in 1984 Council moved to a cost-recovery policy for civic services. In 2002 provision was made for major parades in the Celebration grants program, which supports program enrichment, city-wide publicity, and event planning expertise. At the time, the costs of civic services were not included as an eligible expense since funding was targeted to the cost of developing new programming and audiences rather than meeting ongoing service costs.
During the review of the first round of Celebration grants applications this spring, the five-member grant program advisory committee reviewed two major parade applications and noted that City service costs appeared to be an unavoidable factor in their costs. The committee recommended that the major parades already eligible for support in the Celebration grants program be assisted with these City service costs.
At Council's direction, Cultural Affairs reviewed the nature of city services with Engineering staff, and the impacts of these costs with the organizers of the Chinese New Year's, Vaisakhi and Pride parades. These are Vancouver's three largest parades; each includes significant cultural components and meets the general eligibility criteria of the Celebration grants program. This report does not address all types of parades held in Vancouver; the focus is specific to major parades eligible in the Celebration grants program that:
· are not for profit, and based in Vancouver
· have a cash budget over $15,000
· have attendance over 10,000
· have more than 20 organizations as registered entrants
The most recent breakdown of City service costs charged to parades is shown below. Traffic operations include barricades and signage; administration costs include the portion of staff time spent on reporting costs and invoicing.
Parade |
Police |
Traffic Ops. |
Sanitation |
Admin |
GST |
Total |
|
2003 Chinese New Year's parade |
|
$2,524 |
|
$450 |
$366 |
$9,541 |
|
2003 Vaisakhi parade |
$9,463 |
|
$811 |
$1,079 |
$622 |
|
|
2002 Pride parade |
|
$3,468 |
$4,991 |
$1,269 |
$543 |
15,871 |
Total |
$20,790 |
$12,371 |
$6,276 |
$2,798 |
$1,531 |
$43,766 |
The overall impact of these costs is demonstrated by the percentage of the parade budgets required to meet them. Organizers noted that their events, being free to the public, have limited cash revenues, which are the source of funds to pay for City services. Estimates for the value of volunteer services are not included in the budget figures.
Parade |
Service costs |
% of Budget |
% of Cash revenues |
2003 Chinese New Yr. Parade |
$9,541 |
34% (of $28,000) |
44% (of $21,800) |
2003 Vaisakhi Parade |
$18,354 |
47% (of $18,354) |
75% (of $24,496) |
2002 Pride Parade |
$15,871 |
36% (of $15,871) |
71% (of $22,294) |
As the above figures indicate, the impact of City service costs is substantial and the earned revenues of these events are limited. The budget information and comments from parade organizers reveal a number of common features and concerns.
· Currently, the cost of City services is the single largest expense item in the budgets of the three parades.
· City service costs absorb between 44% to 75% of the available cash revenues. Since these parades are free to the public there is no ticket income, resulting in low cash revenues.
· The financial basis for parades is primarily donations in cash, fund-raising events and in-kind assistance.
At this stage in their development the three parades are caught in a dilemma. The proportion of their budgets required to pay City service costs is substantial, yet they are exposed to these costs by the nature and location of their activity. The capacity of the sponsoring organizations to improve these events and to better serve the public is constrained by these circumstances.
DISCUSSION
The Celebration grants program addresses City objectives to animate Vancouver's streets and neighbourhoods through the entertainment, intercultural sharing, and sense of community that major parades can provide, and seeks to strengthen their capacity to do so. As noted in the background, the impact of service costs on major parades is both substantial and inherent to the nature of this activity. By comparison, festivals and celebrations held in parks or on streets, while also incurring service costs, have relatively lower or no police or traffic operations costs. The impact of high service costs on major parades is a substantial constraint on their ability to animate Vancouver's streets and neighbourhoods.
Two options for redressing this situation are:
Option 1: Absorb costs. Following the example of cities such as Montréal, Vancouver could support its major parades by absorbing the cost of police and engineering services. This has the advantage of eliminating the impact of city service costs and simplifying administration. Based on the most recent cost information, Option 1 may cost $40,000 to $50,000 in the short term. The disadvantage is that if the City simply absorbs the costs, this will separate the parade organizers from the financial consequences of their service-related decisions. It may also lead to expectations that the financial commitment is open-ended.
Option 2: Cost sharing. The City could establish a partnership arrangement in which costs are shared equally. This would mitigate the cost impacts on major parades. This option is more consistent with policy for the City's other grant programs which encourage organizations to develop support from more than one source, and has review mechanisms which consider the performance and community benefit provided by events.
On balance, staff recommend Option 2, a partnership role, for the following reasons:
· Cost sharing mitigates the impacts while retaining the organizer's responsibility to manage well.
· Consultation and co-ordination in a partnership may produce solutions that bring down some costs.
· City costs are likely to be lower, and more predictable.
Implementation
Staff recommend that the City provide up to 50% of service costs, through a second "City services" component targeted to major parades in the existing Celebration grants program. To facilitate this, the existing application review by City staff and community advisory committee would be used, with recommendations for Council approval contained in the regular allocation report for the program. At the conclusion of the event, 50% of service costs, up to the amount approved by Council, are deducted from the invoice for City services.
Park Board services are not cost-shared and would be recovered under the Board's existing policies.
Approval of the recommendations will provide funds in the Celebration grants program's budget for this year. This would allow the Chinese New Year's and Vaisakhi parades to apply at the Sept.15, 2003 deadline. Council will then receive staff recommendations in November, in advance of the dates for these events in early 2004.
Vancouver Pride Society
Should Council adopt this addition to the Celebration grant program, staff further recommend that the Vancouver Pride Society be approved for a grant to address City service costs for the annual Pride parade scheduled for August 3, 2003. The society meets the grant program eligibility criteria, and has worked out a satisfactory operating plan for this year's parade with Fest Committee staff. City and Park Board invoices from 2002 have been paid. A grant of 50% of the anticipated City service costs, up to a maximum of $8,000, for the 2003 Pride parade is recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Approval of the recommendations would require an increase of up to $25,000 in the 2003 Celebration grants program budget, source of funds to be a one-time allocation from the Opportunities budget for festivals and celebrations approved by Council in 2002 and reserved in the 2003 Budget. Recognizing that not all of the reserved funds may be required this year, a one-time allocation from this source to the Celebration grants program is recommended, with the increase to be included in the 2004 Operating Budget.
CONCLUSION
The review of the cost impacts on parades highlights their dependence on using City streets and the consequent exposure to the cost of police and engineering services. The ability of these donation-supported organizations to bear these costs while offering free celebrations to the public is limited. The Director of the Office of Cultural Affairs recommends establishment of a "City services" component in the Celebration grants program and an appropriate level of funding to mitigate these impacts and further Council objectives to animate our neighbourhoods and celebrate Vancouver's cultural diversity. Should Council approve Recommendations A and B, then a grant for a portion of City service costs to the Pride parade is also recommended.
* * * * *
