REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: August 8, 2019 Report No. FIN-19-012
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Ian Irvine, Director of Financial Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Local Grant Request - First Peoples’ Cultural Council
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
It is accepted procedure that staff not make recommendations on funding requests. Options available to Council are listed below under ALTERNATIVES.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Council Policy ADMIN-32 Local Grants
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Support the arts, culture and heritage community
BACKGROUND:
Indigifest, scheduled to be held on August 24 in Gorge Park, is described as a festival to celebrate the music, arts and cultures of First Nations and Indigenous peoples of British Columbia. As outlined in their application, the total event budget is $220,000 and, in addition to an amount supplied by the First Peoples’ Cultural Council, funding has been secured from Creative BC and the BC Arts Council. The amount requested is $14,182 and would represent the rental costs for the facilities as well as all tents, tables and chairs deemed necessary to hold the event.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
The decision regarding any local grant funding allocation is at the discretion of Council.
2. Organizational Implications
There are no organizational implications of this decision.
3. Financial Implications
Within the 2019 Financial Plan, an amount of $145,000 was allocated for the purposes of issuing local grants. Local grants totaling $134,000 have been approved with a remaining account balance of $11,000 as of the date of this report. This amount is available to fund any local grant requests received throughout the 2019 fiscal year.
Additionally, a contingency account with an allocated balance of $250,000 was approved in the Financial Plan for the purpose of funding unexpected and unforeseen expenditures. At the date of this report, a balance of $245,000 remains in the account.
While this request for support is in the form of in kind services, these are costs that are not currently included within the Financial Plan. Any approved support will be tracked by the relevant departments and any required adjustments will be made to the existing annual budget.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
There are no sustainability or environmental implications of this decision.
5. Communication & Engagement
Due to the short period between the date of this report and the timing of the event, any amount of approved support will be promptly communicated to the applicant and the Parks and Recreation Department.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council approve the local grant request in full with funds allocated from the local grant account and contingency accounts.
2. That Council approve local grant funding for an amount less than was requested.
3. That Council deny the request for funding.