Denton council approves updated special-event fees, standard parade routes and requests outreach to help organizers

City staff described a multi-year effort to standardize special-event permitting, recover costs for public-safety staffing and refine how the city awards in-kind funds to community events, and the City Council voted on June 3 to approve staff'recommended fee changes and to move the new process forward for implementation.

Terrence Jones, grants program manager, and Christine Taylor, who introduced the item, told the council the city has seen a 70% increase in special-event permits since 2021 and that staffing and unreimbursed overtime have grown. Staff presented updated police and fire hourly rates intended to achieve full cost recovery for public-safety staffing on events: proposed police officer rates would rise from $65 to $85 per hour, sergeant rates from $80 to $100 and lieutenant/commander rates from $95 to $115. Jones said parks and general fund support would remain in place for community events and that the city's in-kind support budget remains $400,000 in the general fund.

Jones said the city has implemented a crowd-size tracking tool based on anonymized cell-phone location data to produce more consistent attendance estimates. He also described a tiered permitting fee schedule (tiers 1'5) linked to event size and impact; staff proposed a 10% cost-recovery target for park/facility fees because parks already receive general fund support.

Staff also proposed three standardized downtown parade routes to speed permit review and reduce staffing costs for commonly requested paths. The routes were developed in collaboration with police and event organizers and will be piloted before any permanent change. "The goal is it's twofold: it would improve our processing time, our evaluation time because we know what it takes to staff it," a staff presenter said.

Council discussion focused on the trade-offs of higher fees for organizers, equity for small or nonprofit events, and how best to help organizers increase sponsorship revenue and measure economic impact. City officials said Discover Denton (the Convention and Visitors Bureau) and the city's marketing staff will assist event organizers with promotion and that staff will offer technical help on sponsorships and marketing. Council members suggested workshops with event organizers to help them develop sponsorship strategies and to pool marketing resources across events.

Council action and timing: Council approved the fee recommendations and the implementation plan, with staff proposing the new fees be considered in the September budget process and to take effect October 1 if approved. Several council members asked staff to sit down individually with the largest recurring event organizers (for example, Arts & Jazz, Thin Line Film Festival and the North Texas Fair & Rodeo) to explain changes and explore sponsorship and revenue options; staff committed to follow-up meetings with those organizers prior to October.

Key details: staff reported a current city in-kind allotment of $400,000 for special events; city police hourly rates moving to $85/$100/$115 for officer/sergeant/lieutenant respectively; proposed park permitting fee structure will use five tiers with a 10% cost-recovery target for park fees; staff gave the council an example that Denton Arts & Jazz Festival's current total fees would rise from $238,454 to a proposed $282,928 under the new schedule, a $44,474 increase.

Staff said they will pilot standardized routes (three initial options) and monitor organizer feedback; they will also expand use of event crowd analytics and a new economic-impact tool the CVB has acquired. Council members asked staff to explore vendor lists, private security options, and other tools to reduce staffing costs for organizers.

A council member framed the approved approach as "right sizing" the city's support for events while offering technical assistance to help organizers pursue sponsorships and increase economic impact. "We're not trying to slap you with this," a staff member told organizers during the discussion; staff emphasized a dual approach of fee adjustments and programmatic help for organizers.

The council approved the staff recommendations and directed staff to proceed with outreach and implementation steps ahead of budget adoption.