During public comment, a St. Helens resident raised allegations about event revenue reporting and urged the city to redirect funds to support the local food bank rather than spending on Citizens Day in the Park.

The commenter questioned a line in the draft budget about tourism receipts and said: "I also wanted to ask about the $453,000 that Treadway claims that they made off of Halloweentown, and that has been transferred to the general fund... I would like you to confirm that number." The speaker urged the committee to cancel a city event and use the funds for the food bank, calling the event expenses "ridiculous."

Committee members and staff responded that tourism program funding is held in the tourism fund and that a third‑party event contractor manages day‑to‑day production and reporting. Finance Director Gloria Butch described the tourism fund as holding lodging-tax revenues and reserved funds for events and said the contractor is responsible for producing income and expense reports for the city.

A councilor inquired about historical receipts and asked whether the city had received the revenue levels the contractor proposed. Staff did not confirm the specific $453,000 figure during the meeting and said they would provide follow-up documentation when compiling answers for the committee.

Ending: Staff will include tourism revenue documentation and contractor reporting details in the Q&A packet for the next meeting.