Staff outlines HOT-funded contract delinquencies and Long Center administration; commissioners and public seek clarity on transparency and costs

City cultural-funding staff and representatives of the Long Center briefed the commission on June 16 about the status of HOT-funded cultural grants, contract compliance, and the third-party master agreement that helps administer the city’s cultural funding programs.

Rani Morgan Mesic, assistant director for the Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME), presented a chart showing contract status for 2022–2023 awards. Mesic said 8 contracts were forfeited, 15 remained open and 70 were categorized as noncompliant (meaning the grantee had not submitted a final report). She told commissioners the department is working with awardees toward compliance and that unclaimed funds typically roll back into the HOT fund as part of the budget process if a contract is closed out.

Mesic and cultural funding staff quantified the dollars: staff reported about $100,000 in forfeited awards (about $70,000 of that from the Live Music Fund) and roughly $847,500 tied to noncompliant contracts that are actively being worked toward final-report compliance (about $550,000 of that in the Live Music Fund). Staff noted the Live Music Fund is by ordinance separate from the Cultural Arts Fund and cannot be commingled.

Bobby Gadsden (Long Center chief program officer) and Erica Shamley (city contract lead for the Long Center agreement) described the city’s decision to hire the Long Center as a third-party administrator to increase capacity and speed payments. Shamley explained the city issued a request for qualifications and that the Long Center responded; the city entered into a master agreement with a multi-year, high-authority purchasing arrangement and then executes annual contract amendments that list program budgets and administrative tasks. Shamley said the Long Center provides bilingual applicant support and builds applications in Submittable per city guidelines; city staff retains control over program guidelines and evaluation criteria.

Commissioners and public commenters asked for more transparency about Long Center administration fees, hourly-cost breakdowns and whether Long Center contracts and related invoices are public. Shamley and Long Center staff said the master agreement and contract amendments are public and linked in the materials; Bobby Gadsden said the Long Center has initiated an independent third-party audit of its processes for how it stewards contract funds and that the Long Center’s overhead contributes to its nonprofit mission.

Jesus Pantel, cultural funding supervisor, reviewed the city’s delinquency procedure (three-step letters and timelines) and said outright contract termination is rare. Staff explained the typical process for compliance: outreach, delinquency notices, possible contract termination if a grantee fails to respond.

Ending: Staff said the residual HOT amounts will be accounted for in the city’s fiscal process and that any reallocation would require a council action request in the fall. Commissioners asked for follow-up reporting with more granular numbers and a timeline for closing delinquent contracts and for a plain-language summary of the Long Center master agreement and administrative costs.