Littleton arts board approves Tier 1 and Tier 4 lodgers-tax recommendations, defers tourism funding

The Littleton Arts and Culture Board on June 12 voted to approve Tier 1 lodgers-tax pass-through recommendations to City Council and approved Tier 4 discretionary grants, but postponed a decision on Tier 3 — the city's tourism and marketing allocation — until staff provides more detailed budgets and placement information.

Board chair Jamie McCrumb said the board would forward Tier 1 and 3 as "pass throughs" to council, while noting Tier 4 has more local discretion. Director-level staff had earlier told the board that council directed that Tiers 1 and 3 be held at last year's levels. Museum Director Tim Ham told the board, "projection for lodgers tax was around 1,100,000 a year. First year, we came in at about $950,000. Year 2, about $850,000," and that the board's current projection would put this year near $775,000, about 13% below last year.

Why it matters: The lodgers-tax fund is the board's primary revenue source for grants supporting arts, culture and tourism. Decisions on how to allocate a smaller-than-expected pool this year affect organizational budgets, mural and public-art programs and the city's VisitLittleton marketing effort.

What the board decided and next steps - Tier 1 (pass-through grants to baseline arts organizations): The board approved forwarding Tier 1 recommendations to City Council. One board member recused from the Tier 1 vote. The formal tally recorded by the board was 10 yays, 0 nos, 1 recusal; outcome: approved and forwarded to City Council. - Tier 4 (discretionary/local programs including murals, CAP): The board voted to approve Tier 4 as presented; outcome: passed unanimously. Staff advised that Tier 4 was reduced from earlier drafts (the packet shows the program allocation roughly worded as about $35,000 total, with approximately $15,000 for the Culture & Arts Partners group and $20,000 for the mural program). - Tier 3 (Visit Littleton / communications, marketing and events; previously $100,000): The board voted to postpone action and requested more granular information about ad placements, vendor costs (SEO, photo/video library), and how marketing buys target visitors who would stay in area hotels. A motion to delay Tier 3 to get more detail passed and staff will return with additional documentation; the board discussed inviting the city communications/marketing and economic development staff to present in fall or early 2026. - Tier 2 (competitive grants to local organizations): The board scheduled a long meeting on July 10 to deliberate 39 Tier 2 applications and work from a tentative allocation of $225,000 (the amount includes a roughly 10% contingency). Staff said final awardable funds will be updated at the July meeting once more recent revenue numbers are in.

Discussion points members wanted recorded - Several members asked for clearer accountability and wider geographic reach in the Visit Littleton campaign (billboard placement, whether ads target markets beyond adjacent suburbs, and a public media library of city photos/video to be shared with local organizations). - Some board members urged channeling a greater portion of future lodging-tax revenue toward public art acquisition rather than leaving public art to the small Tier 4 'leftovers. - Members requested that staff circulate midyear reports and PDFs for all grant recipients; staff agreed and noted the electronic tracking spreadsheet includes links to each PDF.

Votes and formal actions - Motion: "Approve Tier 1 lodgers-tax pass-through recommendations." Mover: not specified; second: Noah (recorded). Vote tally: yes 10, no 0, recused 1. Outcome: approved/forwarded to City Council. - Motion: "Defer action on Tier 3 (Visit Littleton communications/marketing) pending more detailed cost and placement information." Mover: not specified; second: not specified. Outcome: postponed for later vote; staff to return with more detail. - Motion: "Approve Tier 4 as presented." Mover: not specified; second: not specified. Vote tally: unanimous. Outcome: approved.

What the board said about budgeting and revenue forecasts Tim Ham summarized historical lodgers-tax receipts and current trends and warned the board to expect revenue numbers to continue to fluctuate; staff said nonofficial May receipts were up about 5% but that annual totals remain uncertain. Emma (staff) and Anna (public art administrator) advised that City Council and the city manager's office directed Tiers 1 and 3 not be cut below last year's amounts unless there is an extreme revenue downturn.

Outlook The board will reconvene on July 10 for a long Tier 2 deliberation; if the group cannot finalize awards that night it will revisit numbers in August. Staff will circulate the updated electronic tracking spreadsheet and the midyear reports for the 2025 grant recipients ahead of that meeting.