Aberdeen council adopts promotion-fund rules, raises financial-review threshold to $125,000

The City of Aberdeen City Council on Feb. 24 approved a resolution to formalize administration of the city’s promotion fund and voted to amend the resolution to require a financial review for recipients receiving between $125,000 and $250,000 annually, while keeping a full audit requirement at $250,000 and above.

The promotion fund “is a standalone special revenue fund within our chart of accounts that is used to hold funds derived from bed, board and booze,” Finance Director Jordan McQuillan told the council, using the local shorthand “triple B.” McQuillan said the resolution formalizes budgeting and allocation processes, sets a target reserve balance and clarifies reporting requirements for recipients.

The policy matters to local event organizers and tourism partners because it spells out when outside recipients must provide audited financial statements or a lower-level financial review. McQuillan told the council the current promotion-fund reserve balance is about “$400–$500 thousand” and said staff would return with a recommendation to reduce that balance to the policy target (proposed at about $200,000) after the resolution is adopted.

Discussion centered on three issues: (1) audit thresholds and the cost and availability of outside auditors; (2) a recommended baseline allocation that would direct roughly 10% of promotion funds to city functions (Parks and Recreation and similar services); and (3) how the largest recipient, the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), is treated under existing rules.

McQuillan said earlier drafts proposed a larger city share but were scaled back to match the 2025 allocation level. “That 10% was the current level that we’re at roughly,” he said. He also said the resolution does not change revenues or expenditures; it formalizes the process the city uses to budget for and allocate the funds.

Public commenters and stakeholders addressed the council. Alexa (identified in the record as a resident) told the council, “For us, that’s a lot of money,” referring to the roughly $6,500 cost her organization spent on a review the prior year and urging the council to avoid imposing requirements that smaller groups cannot meet. Casey, representing the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau, described how the CVB spends first and requests reimbursements from the city and said long-standing work with local audit firm Eide Bailly made a local review preferable: “We actually spend our money first, and then we code it and tag it and then we submit for city reimbursement.” Casey told the council an audit for the CVB costs “just shy of $20,000.”

Council members debated alternatives to a formal audit requirement—including board-level attestations or certificates of compliance—but generally supported keeping a financial-review/audit structure. Councilman Ward moved an amendment to raise the financial-review threshold from $100,000 to $125,000; the amendment passed on roll call. McQuillan told the council he was comfortable with the $125,000 threshold.

Councilman Ronan made the motion to approve the resolution as amended; Councilman Rhinebold seconded. The council took a roll-call vote and recorded unanimous support for the amended resolution (roll call recorded as ayes by council members present). The amendment and final resolution passed. Jordan McQuillan said staff would bring a recommendation to spend down the promotion-fund reserve to the formal target after passage.

The record notes that the CVB is already subject to an audit requirement under a separate section of city ordinance (Section 51.53) that requires a biennial CPA audit for that business-improvement district; council discussion identified the CVB as the only recipient likely to exceed the $250,000 audit threshold under the new policy.

The resolution establishes procedures for annual budgeting and allocations from the promotion fund and sets the financial-reporting thresholds that will apply to recipients. Council members said they expect to revisit the policy if the auditing market or recipient compliance creates unforeseen problems.

Votes at a glance: the council approved an amendment (to raise the financial-review threshold to $125,000) and then approved Resolution 25-0203-R as amended. The roll-call votes were recorded as ayes by council members present; no nays were recorded in the transcript.