Leesburg keeps legacy event fee waivers; sets 50% or $5,000 cap for new waiver requests

The Leesburg Town Council voted by consensus to retain its list of legacy fee‑waiver events and to adopt a new framework for future requests that caps one‑time fee waivers for new events at 50 percent of eligible fees or $5,000, whichever is less.

Town staff reviewed the history of the town’s fee‑waiver program, which traces to a 1996 resolution and was updated in 2021. Staff said the town maintains a set of annual “legacy” fee‑waiver events — including local high‑school graduation parties held at town facilities, the Halloween parade, the Juneteenth freedom march and other annual downtown events — and that the town’s one‑time fee waivers have ranged from about $400 to more than $11,000 in recent years. Staff also noted the town established a $10,000 budget line for one‑time fee waivers.

Kate Trask, a town staff member, told council that in FY‑25 staff anticipated approximately $25,000 in one‑time fee waivers once final reports and costs were submitted for recent events. The fiscal pressure prompted a council discussion about eligibility, caps and timelines.

After debate, councilors agreed on these policy directions for the staff to draft into a formal ordinance or administrative policy: - Maintain the current legacy events list (the existing annual events designated in the policy) and continue treating those items as legacy events for budgeting and approval; do not add new legacy events automatically. - For new or one‑time fee‑waiver requests, cap the town’s contribution at 50 percent of the eligible fees or $5,000, whichever is less. - Require organizers to submit fee‑waiver requests and event applications with sufficient lead time for planning; council settled on a 90‑day advance notice minimum for staff to process and estimate costs (some councilors discussed longer timelines for large events and a December‑31 budget deadline, but that specific deadline did not receive majority support). - Require organizers to submit a certificate of insurance, pay for any damage to town property and reimburse the town for any fees incurred above the waived amount; staff also proposed a deposit mechanism to guarantee removal or cleanup costs.

Councilmembers discussed the economic benefit of events that bring visitors and retail sales downtown and were cautious about imposing rules that might discourage organizers. Several councilors favored keeping the existing legacy list intact to avoid losing long‑standing community events. Others urged a cap or budget increase to avoid exceeding the town’s waiver budget in future years.

Staff will return with rewritten policy language reflecting the council’s directions, clarification on legacy‑status criteria and the proposed cap and timeline.