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Lodi OKs Special Event Fee

Posted on: Thursday, 22 December 2005, 15:00 CST

By Jeff Hood, The Record, Stockton, Calif., The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Dec. 22--LODI -- Downtown event organizers have to pay up to $15,000 to Lodi's downtown business association to get permission for their functions, under a policy approved Wednesday by the Lodi City Council.

The special-events fee was approved 3-2, with Vice Mayor Bob Johnson and City Council members Larry Hansen and JoAnne Mounce favoring the new fee, which was developed without consulting with city staff.

Fees would be paid to the Downtown Lodi Business Partnership -- which also can approve or deny applications -- based on expected attendance and whether the applicant is a nonprofit or for-profit venture.

For-profit events expected to draw 50,000 visitors would be charged the top rate, while small events by charities might not be charged a permit fee.

Mary Wallace, head of the business organization, said the events policy was drafted during the summer after studying fees charged by other cities for downtown events.

She said the partnership takes care of permits and logistics for events, and the policy puts each side's responsibilities and expectations in writing.

"It can be a way to make money," Wallace said. "At the same token, we want to standardize the process and keep downtown the family-friendly place we want it to be."

Lodi gave the partnership the power in 1998 to oversee downtown events. City Attorney Steve Schwabauer, however, said that deal didn't give the group the right to charge organizations wishing to use public streets.

"In my view, it does not give them authority to charge for somebody holding an event, given the way they've proposed in their downtown special-events policy," he said.

Mayor Susan Hitchcock and Councilman John Beckman voted against approving the partnership's annual report.

Beckman said the downtown association seems to be in "a perpetual mess."

"I see this special-events policy you have here, and the burning question I have is: Under what authority and power and direction did you guys come up with this events policy?" Beckman asked Wallace.

Not only did Beckman and Hitchcock oppose the special-events fees, but they said the partnership has failed to follow through with promises to revise the way it assesses downtown businesses. Some business owners have complained the tax doesn't correlate with the benefit received.

The City Council is scheduled to conduct a public hearing Jan. 4 on the assessment. Taxes range from $50 to $500 annually, depending on the business type and location.

Contact Lodi Bureau Chief Jeff Hood at (209) 367-7427 or jhood@recordnet.com

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Record, Stockton, Calif.

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Source: The Record

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