Councilor Robert Corradino voices his feelings regarding fees for certain events. Looking on at left is Councilor John Gosek.
OSWEGO, NY – The debate regarding what the Port City should do with its financial resources boiled over Monday night to include several traditional city events.
Cre8 Studios sought council approval for use of city properties in order to organize and host a St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 12; the Independence Day Celebration on July 3; the Oswego County Paddlefest event on August 6; and the Great Pumpkin Festival to be held September 30 – October 2.
However, city services were approved for Pumpkin Fest and the Independence Parade only, the others were amended to remove city support, fees weren’t waived they weren’t designated as a city sponsored event.
Voting in favor of the amendments were councilors John Gosek, Robert Corradino, Nate Emmons and Shawn Walker.
Eric VanBuren, Caitlin Reynolds and Pat McLaughlin voted no.
Christopher and Heathe Jones of Cre8 Studios aren’t certain just yet whether to move forward with the events.
“I don’t think we’re ready to make that decision yet. But, makes it more difficult,” Heathe Jones said.
“We’re going to take some time to reassess all the events,” Christopher Jones said following the meeting.
During the public session prior to the meeting, several residents, some of them business owners who hold events, spoke about the events and their costs and benefits to the city.
Some said the city (taxpayers) shouldn’t have to subsidize events and if the city waives fees for event organizers, it should also waive them for everyone else, including someone wanting to hold a birthday party in Breitbeck Park.
Some speakers said the events were a positive force that brings the community together, and bring people from all over to Oswego. The city needs to attract more tourists, which will generate revenue, others said.
Councilor Emmons said the city has basic needs for its residents that need to be addressed.
“We need to take care of those things first,” he said. “We can’t afford another tax increase. It’s not about one single event; it’s about consistency … how we best allocate our money without putting any burden on the taxpayer.”
Councilor Corradino added that the city has many other places that it needs to invest its funds.
“I can’t … sit here and give services like the bandstand away, services like firefighters for certain events; I can’t see us giving those services away. We can’t keep giving money away. We have problems and we need to address them. Waiving fees is not the answer.”
They are all great events, but there are so many other things Oswego needs to spend money on, he added.
Christopher Jones pointed out his business absorbs many of the events’ cost when it comes to insurance, bands and resources that are used for the events.
Total revenue for the July 4th celebration was $13,450. The expenses were $16, 860.
“That means that a net loss of $3,410 came out of our business,” he said. “Why? Because we believe in these events. I can’t take any more (out of the business). So if you talk about riding on the backs of taxpayers – that’s not the case. We are investing. We want to make efforts to improve the city.”
Everyone needs to get together and figure out how to move forward and provide quality events for people who live here and people who visit here, Greg Mills, executive director of the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce, told the council.
“We have challenges as a community. We have to figure those things out,” he said. “We have to sit down at a table, have a discussion, try to determine what is the best solution.”
Discover more from Oswego County Today
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
There are OTHER places we can ‘reassess’ expenditures, rather than those events that almost every resident in the community has the opportunity to enjoy It’s not like the Fourth of July Parade is ONLY enjoyed by the few…it is open to all. And if the City only INVESTS $3,500 or so in it, AMAZING!
Most of us could not imagine no Fourth Parade. It’s the start of summer, just as Harborfest is the middle, and Pumpkinfest is rather th end of good weather outdoor activities.
So sad that we are nickle and diming community activities…there ARE certainly other ways to crunch the numbers, and some of them are a lot more than $3,500.
I am still stunned that Oswego has begun charging for their city pool after selling off all their lake front properties! How about nabbing some of those businesses to help pay for this.
The nukes have been generous with Harborfest, but we allowed them a MASSIVE tax incentive a decade ago that we are now trying to compensate for. Let the residents of the State of NY who use that resource cough up some of the money (from the nukes, the other industries)?
The Independence Day Parade, Pumpkinfest, and HarborFest all still have full funding and support from the city. Every event that was before the council last night was approved. The only two things that were not approved regarding the events were requested waivers for services for Paddlefest (which the event sponsors said they could cover the costs) and the St Patrick’s Day which was a new event. Again, the The Independence Day Parade and Pumpkinfest were approved with the traditional funding and support from the city.There is false information out there regarding what happened last night at the council meeting that needs to be clarified.
Last night,as many of you know, the Common Council voted to approve all of the event requests that were up for consideration. What the council did not approve were requests for the waivers of fees/service costs associated with City services that were requested for two of the events: a new event, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the 2016 Paddlefest. Both of these events are managed and operated by a private,for profit, company. While not very popular, I was one of the Councilors that voted against the request for fee waivers. I understand that on the surface, one may question as to why I would not support such a request. But I believe there is a very good reason that I could not, nor could the Council approve the request.
Let me explain… As a municipality, in most cases,we are prevented from using public funds for direct private use. It is law and is clearly stated in our State Constitution. Under certain circumstances, we as a Council can approve the use of public funds for direct private use, but the those situations are very narrowly defined. When a request such as these event requests come before the Council, we as a Council must determine whether there is a valid public purpose for the expenditure or in this case the waiver of fees. If the Council determines that a particular expenditure or request accomplishes a valid public purpose, and despite the fact that one or more individuals or corporations might incidentally benefit, the expenditure (waiver) can be valid. The key question is whether a valid public purpose is being directly accomplished by the expenditure or request. Cities may not expend public funds simply to obtain for the community the general benefits resulting from the operation or the activities of a corporate enterprise, in this case the events requested by a private business. If it the request is granted, the City must must also place sufficient controls on the transaction to ensure that the purpose will be carried out.
When I reviewed the requests, I determined, along with other Councilors, that the requests, specifically requests for waivers of fees, did not meet the “public purpose test.” Yes, I would agree, that there is a potential general community benefit that can result because of the implementation and execution of the events being proposed. However, I determined, along with 3 other Councilors, there was not enough evidence to determine that there was a direct and valid public purpose for the expenditure (or again in this case waiver). The public as a whole must directly benefit from the requests for approval and, I, along with the other Councilors, did not and do not believe the event requests satisfied this standard.
I, along with the other Councilors, take very seriously our fundamental obligation to take great care in the handling and use of the public (taxpayers) funds. We are entrusted to make the best possible decisions with the information that we have in hand. Sometimes, our decisions may be unpopular. Some may disagree with our decisions. But the correct decision may not always be the popular decision. I am happy to expand upon this further with anyone whom would like further information. I would also appreciate anyone that is reading this to share the information above to begin to correct the public record and to help offset any disinformation. I thank you for your time and look forward to continuing my service for the people of the 3rd Ward and the City of Oswego.
That is absolute nonsense. Of course Paddlefest and a St. Patrick’s Day parade should be considered valid under the “public purpose test”. These events would bring in revenue and that would benefit the public. These events are investments into the city. You can use as many words as you would like but the four of you got it wrong. Furthermore, you should not be a part of the vote. You have a competing business interest. You should not even be part of the discussion.
Lou Anne nailed it. Emmons should have also publicly acknowledged that his business bid on these events and he wasn’t selected. That’s when he started the campaign to create hardship for the winning bidder. In the end it is the community that loses. We should be doing everything possible to make people outside of Oswego think that this is a “cool” fun place to be so they will come here and enjoy our events, eat in our restaurants and shop in our stores. This in turn generates sales tax dollars and supports local jobs.
To all concerned,
My business, Just Push Play Productions, is primarily a wedding DJ business. Here is my website for more information so you can take a look for yourself…www.pushplayevent.com. I did not bid on the Independence Day Parade nor Pumpkinfest events when presented by the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce. That is absolutely false. The “winning bidder” for these events was from what I understand was the only bidder. I did bid on the Summer Concert Series as it did fit into my wheelhouse for music production as I am a professional DJ. I did receive the contract over several other companies. So as a matter of public record, there would not have been any need for me to “start the campaign to create hardship for the winning bidder” as it facts do not align with that particular narrative. Please contact the Greater Oswego-Fulton Chamber of Commerce if you would to ensure the information I am sharing is accurate.
I realize there is a lot of public discourse out there on both sides of this issue. However, just because there is disagreement about policy or a vote does not allow for false statements to be made. This narrative that somehow my business is in competition with this business that came before the Council Monday night is also unequivocally false as well. Very little of our business activities actually have any cross over. Finally, there is not any “campaign” to create hardships on anyone. I do not have direct dealings with the company that came before the Council on Monday night and I would not need to because my business operations and activities are different than theirs. I have kept all of my public comments on this issue aligned with the facts, policies, procedures and obligations that I have as a Councilor. Any personal attacks or narratives that are being produced are not any product of my comments regarding this issue. If anyone has specific questions, you can contact me directly and I would be happy to answer those questions.
“It is far far better to do the harder right, than the easier wrong.” – Zig Ziglar
Emmons did the right thing for all involved. This affects everyone creating any event in the city, even his own events. Take the high school level drama out and you’ll Se he did the right thing here.
This is a big mistake on the part of the City Council. I am not sure if they considered the potential sales tax revenue alone that would be generated, in addition to the positive vibes the city gets from hosting such events. I urge the Council to reconsider this ill informed action. Perhaps the Mayor could appoint a committee to study theories and cons, benefits and costs. Just saying yes to sewers and no to events would be a colossal error. I hope the new Mayor steps up to the plate on this one.
It doesn’t effect Councilor Emmon’s events because if Council follows his recommendations when it comes time to vote for his multiple events (that will utilize public space) The council will pass it as a “sponsored event” because they have already been budgeted for under the Chamber Events. This is him trying to look like he is making a sacrifice. So he really has no loss here to argue. This event also uses City Sponsored Money for for-profit gain. Last year he chose to have two politically sponsored events at these concerts using tax payer money.
The Councilor continues to post and beg for shares of posts and continues to pick at these events in efforts to make long drawn out points. More words do not = more value. Social media grandstanding = drama
“If you cant explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough” Albert Einstein
I think the expectation of expecting the city to fund every potential event that could be considered of interest or benefit to the community would be a rather “unrealistic expectation” at best. I can almost see it now, having a parade of Oswego County Jail imates marching down Bridge Street to the tune of “When the Saints Come Marching In” with music provided by some local DJ company. While turnout may be great, I doubt they would allow that as well.