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Council approves 30% discount for 501(c)(3) groups at Mount Pleasant Civic Center
Summary
The Mount Pleasant City Council on June 17 adopted Ordinance 2025-11 to allow a 30% discount on civic-center rental fees for organizations with 501(c)(3) status; council and staff debated the expected fiscal impact.
The Mount Pleasant City Council on June 17 voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-11, updating user fees for the civic center to provide a 30 percent discount to organizations that hold 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
Why it matters: City officials said the discount is intended to keep nonprofit events in Mount Pleasant by lowering rental costs for organizations such as hospice groups, CASA-style programs and other local charities that regularly use the Civic Center.
Justin Beard, the Civic Center manager, presented the fee-change recommendation and said it reflects the civic-center board’s request. "Based on their recommendation, they're trying to get a discount for nonprofit organizations," Beard said. Beard also outlined the center’s operating costs and noted the facility receives some support from the hotel-motel tax.
Council members discussed the center’s recent finances and the potential revenue effect of a 30 percent nonprofit discount. City documents presented at the meeting show rental and lease revenue totaled about $77,000 in 2023 and $107,000 in 2024; year-to-date rental income for the current fiscal year was about $64,000 at the time of the report. Council members noted the Civic Center has run operating deficits in recent years; one councilmember cited deficits of roughly $100,000 in 2023, $120,000 in 2024 and an estimated $93,000 year-to-date in the current fiscal year.
Council members debated the scale of the discount’s budgetary effect. One council member estimated that, given the share of rentals used by nonprofits, the net fiscal impact of a 30 percent discount would likely be in the low five figures annually. Councilmembers who supported the change emphasized the civic center’s community role and urged the council to support local nonprofit programming.
The council voted to adopt the ordinance as proposed. The discount applies only to organizations that provide documentation of 501(c)(3) status; other user fees and rate tables were not changed by the action. Staff will monitor bookings and revenue to assess the discount’s fiscal impact and report back to the council as needed.
