Commission reports lower ticket revenue after three-day 2025 festival; expenses largely aligned with shorter schedule

The Franklin Civic Celebration Commission reviewed its 2025 financial statement on Monday and told members the shorter, three-day festival schedule drove lower ticket and vendor revenue compared with 2024. Commission member John Bergner said ticket sales were $59,000 in 2025 compared with $75,000 in 2024 and attributed the decline to the festival running three days in 2025 versus four in 2024. He also said food-vendor receipts were about $16,000 in 2025 versus $20,000 in 2024. The commission reported several expense-line changes consistent with a shorter schedule: entertainment costs were roughly $36,000 in 2025 compared with about $48,000 in 2024; police and Department of Public Works charges were $44,000 versus $54,000; and beer sales revenue was $14,000 versus $18,000. Bergner said some expense categories — notably tent rental — did not change materially because rental firms charge similar fees whether tents are rented for three or four days. Other details discussed: ATM rental revenue rose after the commission received 2 percent of transactions instead of 1 percent; supplies increased to about $1,200 from $800; T-shirt orders were reduced; and ice and soda usage varied with crowd tastes. Bergner said the commission returned $44,000 to the city as part of the festival accounting. Questions and clarifications: A commissioner identified as Dennis asked about line item 17, services/licenses/memberships. Bergner explained this covered bartender-license fees and other small licensing or membership fees paid through City Hall and cited an approximate $100 charge for that category in 2025. A request for detailed food-vendor revenue was made; Bergner said he maintains a spreadsheet but characterized it as not public information and said he could share certain details on request. Net position: Members said total expenses and net income were within expected ranges for a shorter festival and that most variances clustered in a 20–25 percent range consistent with the reduced number of festival days. No formal vote on the financial report occurred; the commission said it will present the statement to the Common Council.