The city council got a sneak preview of the Sonoma International Film Festival’s budget Wednesday night. It wasn’t a pretty picture. Kevin McNeely, the event’s executive director, came to the council to ask for a grant or loan of $14,400 to “assist in making our operation sustainable.”
The four-day, 60+ film event begins Thursday.
With a majority of the council convinced the event generates considerable tax revenue and publicity for the city, members figured a way to cover about $9,500 of the request. A plan to use community development funds was approved 3-2.
McNeely said he expects between 2,500 and 3,000 attendees. He said it’s hard to quantify exactly how much revenue the event actually generates for the city, “but there’s a definite, significant spike. We make an economic impact.”
The visitors are spending on much more than hotel rooms, added Council member Ken Brown. “They go to the pharmacy, they buy gas, they shop on the plaza.”
Despite cost-cutting and budget cuts – as chair of the film society, McNeeley pays himself $1 per year to run the festival – the event is once again in a financial bind. As the council heard from the producers of Jazz +, the pool of corporate sponsorship dollars has dried up.
“We’re doing everything we can,” McNeeley told the council. “Cash is hard to come by.”
The bulk of the festival request, $12,000, is the rental fee for the Sebastiani Theatre, home of the festival’s major screenings and events. The other $2,400 is the charge for the Sonoma Women’s Club.
The festival has received various forms of city funding in the past, including grants, loans and forgivable loans. Last year, the council gave $25,000 to the festival. Another straight grant from the city’s general fund, which faces a budget deficit, was not discussed Wednesday night.
Instead, the creative solution was to use money from a healthier city fund. As the operators lease the Sebastiani Theatre from the city (at $1,500 per month), the city plans to grant it rent credits totaling $7,000. The theatre’s Roger Rhoten is reportedly open to the idea.
No such deal could apply to the Women’s Club. Brown suggested the Sonoma Community Center, another festival venue with a similar fee, be substituted. Essentially, the city’s development agency will lease the venue at the contracted rate, then sub-lease it to the festival for one dollar.
The net results to the venues are the same, and the festival keeps about $7,500 for other purposes.
Cathy Swett, executive director of the Sonoma Community Center, said Thursday she had just heard about the plan secondhand. Barring any problems or legal concerns, the center will likely agree to the concept, she said.
The contracts and final reconciliation will come after the event. Council member Joanne Sanders objected to both the expenditure and the hurried timeline. “I’m uncomfortable with this,” she said. “I’m concerned about the timing, and the workload for staff. It seems like a whole lot of work for not a lot of money.”
Sanders said the city already subsidizes the Sebastiani Theatre, and has contributed to major upgrades there and at the community center. “We do everything we can do to make Sonoma a destination,” she said.
Joining Sanders with a no vote was Council member August Sebastiani. While lauding the festival itself, he said his view was philosophical rather than financial. “I don’t think this is what government should be doing,” he said, “it’s not what the city of Sonoma should be doing.”
Mayor Steve Barbose, joining Brown and Laurie Gallian in the majority, said it was indeed the role of the city to “nurture and help” the festival. “This is one of the things that makes Sonoma a special place. It brings us a lot of people and lot of panache.”
