Council tables vote on $10,000 recreation budget increase tied to Dollar Bank Juneteenth sponsorship

University Heights City Council discussed a request to increase the 2025 recreation and entertainment budget by $10,000 — a request tied to a $10,000 Dollar Bank presenting sponsorship for the city’s Juneteenth celebration — but ultimately tabled the matter pending clarification from the finance director.

Deanna Bremer Fisher (the mayor’s chief of staff) told council the Dollar Bank sponsorship arrived after the budget process and that the city had previously budgeted for other Juneteenth revenues (including a $5,000 Ohio Arts Council grant and a $2,000 NOPEC sponsorship). She said the administration had been conservative in event spending and that the Juneteenth committee hoped to expand children’s activities; the Juneteenth event date is June 21.

Councilmember King moved to increase the recreation entertainment budget from $95,000 to $105,000 to reflect the new sponsorship. Councilmembers and staff debated whether the $10,000 had already been included in the revenue assumptions used to set the $95,000 appropriation; there were also questions about vendor revenue (reported at $520 so far) and how NOPEC funds have been applied historically. The motion to increase did not receive a second and did not proceed. A separate motion to table the item for the next meeting passed on a roll call vote (King, Sacks, Wright, Weiser voting Aye).